WWII veterans and in-laws take Honor Flight
Some people might dread sitting though dinner with their children's in-laws, but an Arlington Heights couple set up a special trip for their fathers to take together.
David Sever and Richard Brandt met nearly 40 years ago when Sever's daughter Jeanne started dating Brandt's son Ron. They've attended the same family events for decades, but last week they took a trip without the family: a visit to Washington, D.C., as part of Honor Flight Chicago with other World War II veterans.
Brandt, now 91 and living in Park Ridge where he still serves as a park commissioner, was a first lieutenant in the Army Air Forces. He was stationed in England in 1944 and flew missions over Germany.
Sever, an 89-year-old Elgin resident, served as a private first class in the Army in Okinawa, Japan, and then in Korea in 1945 and 1946.
Their war stories are different, but their experience on Honor Flight was shared as they become two of the more than 5,500 World War II veterans Honor Flight has taken to Washington, D.C., since 2008.
The group visits half a dozen memorials, including those for World War II, Iwo Jima, Abraham Lincoln, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, in one day before returning to Midway International Airport amid great fanfare.
“It was a fabulous trip all the way around,” Brandt said.
The trip started early, with the men waking up about 2:30 a.m. last Wednesday to get to the airport for the early morning flight.
The group was led around Washington, D.C., with a police escort so the veterans didn't have to stop for any traffic and could make good time going from memorial to memorial.
The last time Sever was in the capital was 70 years ago before he was shipped overseas.
“I'll probably never see it again,” he said. “It's something everybody should see in their lifetime.”
Brandt had been back to visit D.C. before and has traveled back to his old air base and the sites of some of his bombing missions in Germany.
One of Brandt's mementos from war, an old German helmet, sits nearby as he talks about the experience.
“We had just captured a bunch of Germans and one of the soldiers gave me his helmet,” Brandt remembered.
He also brought home a hand grenade and a .50-caliber bullet from his aircraft, which his son Ron brought to class in second grade and was passed around during show-and-tell, something that would not be allowed in schools today, Brandt said with a laugh.
After a long day of sightseeing, the veterans were welcomed back to Chicago with hundreds of cheering friends and family members, a military band, bagpipes, fire engine lights and sirens.
“It was quite an interesting spectacle,” Brandt said.
“I've never been treated like that in my life,” Sever said. “I felt like a king.”
Sever was also happily surprised by his daughter who flew in from Colorado to greet him. “That was a very big surprise,” he said.
People were cheering, holding signs and thanking the veterans for their service.
“It was a mob scene,” Brandt said.
“Everyone was grabbing my hand, shaking it,” Sever said.
The experience was an overwhelming change from what both men experienced decades ago.
“It was certainly a different homecoming then when we came home the first time and there was nobody there,” Brandt said, remembering when he returned from overseas after World War II but wasn't greeted by any waving flags or crowds of people.
Even though the two were busy for nearly 24 hours, both said it was worth it.
“When you got to bed it was a long day, but they've got you going so much during the day that you don't have time to be tired,” Sever said. “It was one hell of a day.'”
The two men agreed that walking through history in their nation's capital was a good way to spend the day, especially together.
“We're family,” Brandt said.
Anyone who knows a World War II veteran living in the Chicago area, or able to travel to Chicago to board an honor flight, is encouraged to visit honorflightchicago.org, or call 773-227-VETS (8387) for additional information and a veteran application.