THREE AREA MEN FLY WITH MIDWEST HONOR FLIGHT 29

By Norma Dittman When the Midwest Honor Flight Mission 29 out of Sioux Falls took to the skies on Tuesday, May 5th, three area men were among the 84 veterans on board. Those men were Jim Oslund and Bill Bryan, Slayton, and Tom Noerenberg, Currie.

Oslund was a Navy Seabee in Amphibius Construction Batallion 1, and then CB Unit 405. Noerenberg was in the Marine Corps, Marine Wings Headquarters 3, Fleet Marine Pacific, and trained 3071 where he served on presidential security. Bill Bryan was in the Army in the 25th Data Processing Unit as a Statistics Specialist out of Orleans, France.

Each of the men had applied to travel with Midwest Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., well over a year ago. When asked when they had learned that their applications had been accepted for Flight Mission 29, they agreed that their notifications came through in January.

Bryan said, “If it hadn’t been for Rick Staples pushing me to go, I would not have done the application and gotten to go on this absolutely amazing trip. Jim talked about going, and then said, ‘I’ll do it if you will.’ And I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go!”

For Noerenberg, it was encouragement from Darrell Gleason that had him convinced Midwest Honor Flight was a must. “We were visiting about Midwest Honor Flight, and then Darrell’s wife got on line and signed me up.”

Oslund explained that his friend, Murl Cole, said, ‘Jim, you GOT to go! It’s important that you go!”

Guardians were chosen, as each veteran who attends an Honor Flight must have one. Oslund’s guardian was his son, Gordon. Bill’s guardian was his daughter, Chris Huso. Noerenberg’s guardian was his friend Jamie Tomazin.

On Monday night, May 4th, a banquet was held for Midwest Honor Flight 29 attendees, their guardians, and family members. “That’s where we got our orders to report,” Noerenberg said with a grin. Held at the Sanford Barn, the banquet included a roll call and a program, along with a catered meal. “They treated us like kings,” Bryan stated.

After staying at the Sheridan Inn, the veterans and their guardians were guided onto buses at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday morning. Their flight left Sioux Falls Regional Airport at 5:15 a.m., landing in Washington, D.C. about two hours later.

“When we got off the plane in Washington, we walked into the concourse. They were already welcoming us! Cheering and yelling, ‘Welcome’!” Noerenberg said.

“We had our set of rules that we had to obey. We were loaded onto four buses, wearing lanyards the color of our bus, and we were told how to identify our bus, and that the seat we sat in would be our seat for each boarding. We could not cross the street for any reason.” Bryan said.

“Our guardians had taken training so that they knew exactly what they were to do. The veterans were not to carry anything anywhere. That was our guardians’ job,” Noerenberg added.

The three men explained that veterans, staff, medics, and guardians were identifiable by the color of t-shirt they wore. Veterans wore blue, staff wore yellow, medics wore red and guardians wore white.

Tours of Washington, D.C. were given by guides on each of the buses. “As we rolled through the streets, those guides had their backs to where we were, but they were describing everything to us as we went,” Noerenberg stated.

The men continued to talk about their tours of the monuments and memorials, sharing that they were impressed with how clean everything was.

They also mentioned that the strong organization of the entire trip was exceptionally impressive.

“I was so impressed with the Vietnam Wall. There were so many junior high students there and they were taking rubbings off the wall for class. They were so respectful, thanking us for our service time,” Oslund added.

Noerenberg recalled some facts given regarding the Pentagon. “Our tour guide said that there are 285 bathrooms in that huge building! That’s amazing!”

All three were very impressed by the Air Force memorial, explaining that it is 260 feet tall. A video taken by Oslund was shared and the beauty of the memorial was apparent in it.

The visit between the three veterans with this reporter is very memorable as they shared so many descriptive words regarding the deep meaning of each memorial and monument on the tour. At times, there was laughter and at times there were tears as they recalled their service time, but also of stories that they have been told by other veterans.

Strong impressions were made at Arlington National Cemetery where they watched the precise Changing of the Guard. The Reflection Pond and Lincoln Memorial, as well as the WWII Memorial - created to span from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean - will stay in their minds for a long time to come.

On their return trip to Sioux Falls, the veterans experienced Mail Call. “You can’t imagine! That packet of mail we were given was three, four inches thick,” Noerenberg said. “It was just packed full with cards of thanks from all over the United States.”

In Oslund’s packet was a special thank you from his granddaughter - which meant so very much to him.

Each mail packet included a hand-made fabric God Bless America heart.

Landing in Sioux Falls, the veterans were escorted into the airport concourse. There they found bagpipes playing and a welcome home that was absolutely astonishing for them.

“It was after we walked through the concourse that they presented each and every one of us with an Honorable Discharge plaque from Midwest Honor Flight 29,” Noerenberg said.

Oslund, Bryan and Noerenberg had words of encouragement to share with all veterans. “If you are a veteran, go! Get your application done through Midwest Honor Flight, and take the trip. It truly is so well worthwhile. It’s an absolute wonderful ‘Welcome Home’ that you won’t forget.”

Oslund, Bryan, and Noerenberg also said that they will visit with anyone who has questions about Midwest Honor Flight. They shared the address for Midwest Honor Flight, which is PO Box 22, Sioux Center, IA 51250.