Stevenson teacher accompanying dad on Honor Flight

Sixty-five years after Paul Roberts' World War II service ended, the Northbrook man is set to join other Chicago-area veterans on an Honor Flight to the nation's capital on Tuesday.

The 87-year-old U.S. Navy veteran will be accompanied on the one-day journey by his daughter, Vickie Saunders, a Buffalo Grove resident and a special-education teacher at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire.

Saunders applied for the trip, part of a program that launched two years ago as a way to honor the dwindling number of living World War II veterans.

“I thought he deserved some recognition for all he did for his country,” she said in an e-mail. “My dad is very proud of fighting for what he believed in democracy and freedom for all.”

Roberts served in the war as a gunner on merchant ships from 1942 to 1945. He traveled all over the globe, seeing Egypt, Panama, England, the Philippines, Guadalcanal and many other far-off locales.

His job was to make sure supplies were delivered and to protect the cargo from enemy airplane and submarine attack, and it was not without excitement. He spent four days on a life raft after one ship was torpedoed, Saunders said.

Saunders said her dad only talked about his military service “once in a while.” But after her mother died four years ago, he wrote about his experiences.

Roberts has since put together scrapbooks and framed his medals, and he's given the memorabilia to his grandchildren, she said.

“He thinks it is important for his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to know and remember what the soldiers fought for, so they can live in a free country,” Saunders said.

The Honor Flight will depart Midway Airport early Tuesday for Washington, D.C, and return that night.

A group of teens from Stevenson High's Students Helping Soldiers club is set to greet them upon their return, school spokesman Jim Conrey said.

Although the Honor Flight itineraries vary from trip to trip, every one includes a trip to the World War II Memorial. Neither Saunders nor Roberts has seen the memorial in person before, and they're looking forward to the visit.

“(It's) the most important thing to see,” Saunders said.

More information about the Honor Flight program can be found at honorflightchicago.org.