Tyler

Thirty-three World War II veterans leave Thursday for a three-day whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. as special guests aboard the Brookshire's/Super 1 Foods WWII Heroes Flight.

Brookshire's officials and a team of two dozen volunteers will escort the veterans as they visit the World War II Memorial, tour the Capitol building with U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, witness the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery and visit a host of memorials in the nation's capital.

The trip will take place Thursday to Saturday, starting with a Thursday morning public sendoff at the Brookshire's on Rice Road, where country superstar Trace Adkins will sing the national anthem.

Those taking part are:

Served in the South Pacific with the 12th Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine Division. He was a corporal in field communications with a 105mm howitzer battalion. He served in a defense battalion on Johnston Island before joining the 3rd Division on Guam. (Aug. '43 - March '46)

Allen, a corporal, said he “learned to be a man responsible for not only myself but for my fellow man, to protect them and sacrifice in whatever way needed. The impressions on my life through those days, I will carry to my grave. I am honored to have served.”

Served with 1st U.S. Army on D-Day at Omaha Beach. Was in Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army in the Red Ball Express, a supply truck convoy involved with Battle of the Bulge, Battle of Cherbourg, Saint Lo and the Breakout. (April '42 - Nov. '45)

Served with 1st U.S. Army's 300th Combat Engineers at Normandy, the Battle of the Bulge, Rhi-neland and Central Europe. His battalion built the first bridge of the war in Carentan, France, and the last outside Nuremberg, Germany. (March '43 - Nov. '45)

Bice, a sergeant, said he was proud to serve his country. “I'll never forget the stench on Omaha Beach, the wicket 88s (German anti-tank gun) while we were building the bridge at Carentan (known as the Tucker Bridge). Our Major Tucker was killed on the bridge.”

Bice also recalls the “bitter freezing weather during the 'Battle of the Bulge.'”

Served with U.S. Navy's 37th Naval Construction battalion (Seabees). A chief petty officer, Boyd sailed through the Panama Canal to New Caledonia, Guadalcanal, Munda Point and Ondonga in New Georgia, and Green Island. Boyd was on Okinawa when the war ended. (May '42 – Nov. '45)

He said he “became more aware of the importance of why we had to maintain a strong fighting force for the defense of our nation” and “more aware of my need for self-discipline in my personal life.”

Served 28 months in U.S. Navy assigned to a commander of destroyers in the Pacific (Com Des Pac). An entertainer, he played saxophone in the admiral's band and was often sent to cheer up injured troops after an enemy attack. (March '44 - April '46)

“We had been out to sea about three weeks on a small carrier, unescorted, with the flight deck and hangar deck completely packed with planes...” Burgess recalls. “It was about 2 o'clock in the morning when the captain got on the horn and said, 'This is the captain speaking. I realize there are many new people aboard, so I think it is only fair to tell you we are being followed by what we believe to be a (Japanese) sub. If general quarters is sounded, go to your stations just like you have been trained. That is all.' About 30 minutes later, general quarters was sounded and that bunch of young 18-19-year-olds took care of the situation just like they were 20-year Navy veterans.”

Served in U.S. Army Air Corps 534th Air Engineering Squadron in the 13th Air Force at Clark Field in the Philippines. Burleson was a corporal, stationed at air bases in Wichita Falls, Denver, Las Vegas and near San Francisco. (April '45 – Dec. '46)

Served in the U.S. Army as a combat engineer and accompanied the 6th Ranger Infantry Battalion when it raided the Cabanatuan prison camp in the Philippines and rescued 511 American and allied POWs. (Jan. '43 – Jan. '46)

Served in Gen. George S. Patton's 3rd Army, landing at Utah Beach and fighting through France, to the Rhine and eastward to Austria and Czechoslovakia, finally serving in the occupation in Munich, Germany. (Dec. '42 – Jan. '46). Clark lost his hearing during the war, but “saw places I never plan on ever seeing again.” He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, during which he was ambushed and escaped.

“Everyone felt a need to unite and serve our great country in time of need,” Clark wrote. “It was an honor I could serve as a soldier to defend our country, the USA.”

Served as an aviation machinist's mate third class in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed at the Naval Training Center in San Diego, then in Combat Aircrew Training School in Norman, Okla., as well as Cuddihy Field in Corpus Christi. (March '45 – Aug. '46)

Dove said his service was a “great experience, but I didn't want to make it a career.” Despite “an anxious atmosphere in the total society, there was also a determined mindset and dedication to the war effort by everyone,” he said.

Served in the U.S. Navy at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, for two years, then 20 months in the South Pacific with Patrol Torpedo Boat Squadrons 32 and 37 on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands before moving northward to Okinawa. (Dec. '41 – Nov. '45)

Elchek, who enlisted at age 17 the day after Pearl Harbor, said he learned responsibility and grew up during the war. He said four years of service during a war will age one in a hurry, but accepting responsibilities in the service makes one more able to cope with civilian life.

Served as a tech sergeant with the U.S. Marines in the 1st division in Southwest Pacific on Green (Nissan) Island of Papua, New Guinea, and on Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. (Feb. '42 - Feb. '46)

Ferguson said the war “changed the course of my life.” Vivid memories include his relationships with other Marines and “the suffering on Guadalcanal.” That battle, considered to be a turning point in the war in the Pacific, cost the 1st Marine Division 650 killed, 1,278 wounded and 31 missing in action. Around 8,500 men, more than half of the division, contracted malaria.

Served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Chew, a destroyer from WWI. The Chew was at Pearl Harbor and opened fire when the Japanese attacked. She remained there on sub patrol, performing depth charge attacks, inter-island escort and sub training duty. (Dec. '43 - June '46)

Served in the U.S. Army Air Force before transferring to basic training in the U.S. Army Infantry in Texas. Later, he joined the 25th Infantry Division at Luzon in the Philippines. He also served in Japan. (Sept. '43 – Feb. '46)

“Military service prepared me to excel. I was focused when I returned from overseas. I started college and never looked back,” Fulgham said. “But it took the help of my wife and family. It has been a good life.”

Gallo was a captain in the U.S. Army Air Corps, based in southern Italy. He flew 34 missions with the 15th Air Force, 47th Wing, and 717th Squadron of the 449th Bomb Group. (Feb. '42-June '46)

“I entered the Air Corps at the age of 17, and ultimately became an officer and a combat pilot in B-24s,” Gallo said. “Flak was always very heavy and my plane was shot down during one mission over Austria. I was rescued by Austrian citizens and ultimately returned to my unit to resume flying.”

Gallo treasures the friendships he made during the war, including his commanding officer, the future Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas and the beautiful lady who would become his wife.

Served in the U.S. Army with the 300th Combat Engineers Battalion, building bridges and roads. Garrett was wounded on Utah Beach in Normandy, France, when his landing craft LST 523 hit a German mine and blew up.

“Ninety-six members of my battalion were killed in a single day and many more were injured,” he said. “I spent 10 months in the hospital and never returned to my unit. Most problems in life do not measure up to that experience. I have been blessed to be an American and live my life in this great country. I know the price of freedom.” (March '43-April '45)

Attended V-12 Navy College Training and Pre-Midshipmen's School in Asbury Park, N.J., then Midshipmen's School in Chicago. Served on USS Vella Gulf CVE-111 in the Pacific, arriving in Okinawa the day the Japanese surrendered. (July '43 – March '46)

“I grew up in a hurry. The point system allowed me the opportunity to get a college education. The service time allowed me the opportunity to ... visit overseas places I had only previously dreamed about. It was quite an experience for this fellow coming from a small West Texas town.”

Served with the Blue Devils: the 88th Infantry Division of the 5th Army, 350th Regiment, Cannon Company. The division was reactivated at Camp Gruber in Oklahoma and trained in Algeria, North Africa, before serving in Italy. (Sept. '42 - Dec. '45)

“It was a complete change from civilian life. It made me grow up. I made many lifelong friends. I saw many countries I would not have seen and spent 344 days in combat in Italy. I was in three campaigns.”

“I was on Mount Battaglia for seven days and nights. A few days before the end of the war we were overrun by the Germans and lost most of our equipment. Thirty men were taken prisoner, including my best friend, Neil Clute.”

Served as a machine gunner in the U.S. Marine Corps 5th Division, 27th Regiment, in the South Pacific. Was at Iwo Jima (sixth wave, first amphibious landing crafts) on the first day of the battle. Later involved in the invasion and occupation of Japan. (May '43 - April '46)

Hester writes that “I hit the beach of Iwo Jima on the first day. H-Hour was 8 a.m. I was on the beach at 8:10 a.m. The invasion lasted 36 days; I was there for 36 days; I did not get the Purple Heart.”

Served in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS LST-77, a tank landing ship, from North Africa to Sicily, Anzio and Southern France. He sailed aboard USS LST-742 to the Pacific (Mindoro, Mindanao, Subic Bay and Manila. (Feb. '43 – March '46)

Of the invasion of Sicily, Higgs writes: “We took the 3rd Army Division to war. We took the 36th Army Division to war. We took the French Foreign Legion to war. We took the Grecian Night Fighters to war. We took the Gurka Night Fighters to war ... all on LST 77.

“It proved to me that war is very ugly. I learned to fight an enemy who knew no bounds. The Christian and compassionate part of me guided me in all the duties that were required of me.”

Served in the U.S. Navy, attending boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill., Aviation Machinist's Mate school at the Navy Pier in Chicago, and gunnery school in Yellow Water, Fla. Served as a mechanic stateside in Tennessee and Virginia. (April '42 - Nov. '45)

Horbury said the Navy trained him for the career he would have most of his life. “I attended the Quaker City School of Aeronautics for 15 months under the GI Bill. I worked at Chance-Vought and Ling-Temco-Vought aircraft companies as a licensed mechanic in the experimental division. At one time, I was astronaut John Glenn's plane captain.

Also, while in training at Quonset Point, R.I., he met a Navy nurse who would become his wife. The two have been married 67 years and are making the Heroes Flight trip as a couple.

Served in the U.S. Navy as an aviation machinist's mate, having attended boot camp in New York City, Aviation Machinist's Mate school at Norman, Okla., and serving in assembly and repair at a naval base at Quonset Point, R.I. (Sept. '43 - Dec. '44)

“There were five in our family of nine children who were in the service. My sister received three battle stars as an Army nurse. My brother, Don (an Air Force B-24 pilot), whose last radio transmission was 'on fire, going down,' was never found, but his son Ron was born the week his father was killed. Ron grew up, graduated from the Air Force Academy, and became a pilot like his father and later retired from the Air Force as a colonel.”

Trained in St. Petersburg, Fla., and served in U.S. Merchant Marines on oil tankers SS Roanoke, SS Ft. Bridger, SS Fredericksburg, SS Somme and the SS Ackia supplying U.S. ships from the Caribbean throughout the Pacific. (Sept. '43 – June '46)

“At times we would have to look for employment because ships were not available,” Jenkins said. One such case was in Houston, and “we had to go to the West Coast by hitchhiking and riding a freight train – at our personal expenses.”

Of the Merchant Marines, Jenkins writes, we were “a very dedicated group.”

Served in the U.S. Navy as FC2C (fire control second class) aboard the aircraft carriers USS Midway (CVB 41) and the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt (CVB 42) in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. (Dec. '45-Dec. '47). Also served during the Korean War.

Larsh said he would like young people today to know that “we were all very loyal to our country and were very proud to be Americans. That pride and loyalty continues today.”

Served in the U.S. Navy Amphibious Corp as petty officer first class aboard a landing craft (Higgins boat). Served aboard the USS LST-268 in the Pacific at Tarawa (Gilbert Islands), Kwajalein (Marshalls), Saipan, Roi, Tinian (Marianas), and in the Leyte Gulf (Philippines). (Oct. '42-Dec. '46).

“I entered the war on my 17th birthday and served for a little more than four years, the last six months in hospitals from Manila to Corona, Calif. I spent three years in the Pacific Theater, and like most veterans who had combat experience, those years were filled with periods of fear, exhilaration and uncertainty. Overall, they taught you discipline, respect for others and the ability to get along with those serving with you under crowded, uncomfortable circumstances.”

Served as a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, invading Angaur Island (Palau group), then on to Peleliu Island. Stopped in New Caledonia before going to Leyte in the Philippines, then was stationed in Japan for three months during the occupation. (June '42-Dec. '45).

“The experiences are ones that you never forget,” Newton writes.

Served in the U.S. Army in an MPEG Company (military police escort guard) at a POW camp for Italian soldiers in Hereford, before transfer to a medical supply depot at Camp Ellis, Ill. Set up a medical supply unit during the occupation of Japan. (Feb. '42-Feb. '46)

“The first reflection I feel most assuredly through the providence of God that I never faced a loaded enemy gun during my service on Leyte and with the occupation forces assigned to Hokkaido,” Parker said. “I never had to threaten to use a weapon in three years of military service.”

Served in the U.S. Air Force at Ellington Field in Houston, Amarillo Field in Amarillo, and Randolph Field in San Antonio, primarily as a mechanic servicing airplanes. (Sept. '42-Feb. '46)

“We were called to serve and went proudly to do what had to be done,” Ramsey writes. “I was one of four brothers who all served in World War II, and a fifth went to Korea.”

Served in the U.S. Army beginning with basic training at Camp Plauche near New Orleans before duty as a combat engineer in New Guinea and on Leyte Island in the Philippines. (Nov. '43-Jan. '46).

“I was a soldier in the 3013 Combat Engineers, which was right behind the infantry in Leyte, Philippines. The tensions were very high going into the area and not knowing what lie ahead,” Rasmussen said. “I landed in New Guinea during the fighting there. That area became a staging area to go into the Philippines and Japan. I guarded Japanese prisoners of war. I also took a group of native headhunters out into the jungle to cut bamboo for setting up tents. Since I did not want my head sitting on some post in front of someone's hut, I was on my best behavior making friends.”

Served in the U.S. Navy Seabees in the South Pacific. He spent his 18th birthday at Okinawa, was involved in D-Day operations on the island and was in Okinawa when the bomb was dropped at Hiroshima. He thanks President Harry Truman for “possibly saving my life.”

Regas said his service “made me appreciate being an American, taught me to be responsible and to cherish life.”

Served in the U.S. Army's 20th Air Force in the Pacific as a right turret gunner, mechanical engineer and equipment operator on a B-29. He served at North Field and Harmon Field on Guam, and at Saipan and Iwo Jima. (March '46-March '47)

“I grew up on a farm in Illinois, so I got a lot of knowledge of the world and experience, plus knowledge of being in the service life.”

Served in the U.S. Navy as a master chief electronics technician on the USS Sperry (AS-12), a submarine tender who refitted and repaired subs in the Pacific at Brisbane, Australia, and at Majuro Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the Mariana Islands and Guam. (June '42-Dec. '45) Also served in Korea and Vietnam.

Smith made a career of the Navy, retiring Nov. 30, 1969. “If I had it to do over again, I would probably do the same thing,” he said. “A very positive experience.”

“When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, I had just turned 17 and tried to join the Marines on Dec. 8, 1941. They told me to go home till I could shave. I was heartbroken. Seven months later I tried to join the Navy. They told me I was too small (95 pounds).” Smith ate steadily, including lots of ice cream, and weighed in at 103 pounds and got in. After three weeks of Navy chow, he weighed 130 pounds. “I was starving and didn't know it,” he said.

Served with the 1306 engineers in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Europe, participating in the invasion of France. After the victory in Europe, they waited in the Philippines before going to Japan. (July '43-Jan. '46).

“I believe the Army would be a great experience for any young man or young lady,” he said. “I had two sons who spent time in the Navy. One served two terms, one on Midway and a second tour on the Aircraft Carrier Enterprise.”

Served with the U.S. Army's 9th Division in Europe as a rifleman. He fought in France, Belgium and Germany and spent time in hospitals in France, England and the United States after being wounded. (June '43-July '43)

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