Schunke Takes Honor Flight
When the Western North Dakota Honor Flight took off from Bismarck on Sunday, Sept. 29, Stanley’s Kelly Schunke was one of the 107 veterans aboard for the whirlwind trip to Washington, D.C.
Schunke’s experience may have been slightly different than that of the other veterans on the trip. Veterans on the trip are allowed to bring someone with them, with the Honor Flight saying they should not bring their spouse. Instead, they should look for a younger person to not only help the veteran, but to also share in their stories.
Kelly thought he was going by himself. Little did he know that his wife Pam and son Keegan had something else in mind. Using a ruse, Keegan told his father he needed a ride to Bismarck to pick up a new work truck and asked if he and Pam would mind him tagging along. Pam was in on the surprise, but until they were getting out of the car, Kelly was unsuspecting.
He says that having his boy go with was the best surprise he has ever had. It made it all that much more special of a trip. As they got out of the car and Keegan had his bag, he realized that his son was going with. Kelly says this was Keegan’s first exposure to a lot of veterans and also maybe to some of his own stories.
This trip, again, was mostly Vietnam era veterans, with two on the trip that served in Korea. Kelly served in the Army in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971.
Like those Vietnam veterans, Schunke has his own stories of coming home from the war and they are never good. He says there are reasons they don’t talk about it and why they have changed. Arriving in Washington, D.C. there were around 200 people lined up thanking the veterans for their service as they went through the airport. For Schunke, it was the first time that anyone other than family and close friends have ever thanked him for his service and the emotions were strong as he cried through the airport.
His memories coming home include a medivac in a military ambulance. He remembers getting to the gate at Travis and there were protesters that literally threw feces at the ambulance. Now seeing families and young children thanking veterans for their service has brought pride and joy to his memories.
The whirlwind trip to Washington, DC takes veterans on a 36-hour odyssey. They left Bismarck at 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. After landing, they were taken to the Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam Veterans Memorial before watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. They also visited the US Marine Corps War Memorial, National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial and the Air Force Memorial before an evening banquet on Sunday.
Monday started with breakfast and then an extended U.S. Capital Tour. They visited the Navy Memorial, the WWII Memorial and the Smithsonian, including the air and space museum before heading back to the airport. The flight arrived back in Bismarck at approximately 7:00 p.m.