Brookshire’s WWII and Korean Veterans

Heroes restores my faith in humanity

At 84 years of age and a good life already under my belt, it never ceases to amaze me how new experiences can make such an impact on my faith in humanity. It’s not every day I get invited and treated to an event where I am being honored for my time in the US Army protecting this great county. But this one took the cake. 

On May 30, I was spoiled rotten and I couldn’t have been more honored to spend Memorial Day weekend in our nation’s capital. The journey began at 7:30 a.m. at Tyler Pounds Airport and I was joined by 28 World War II and Korean Conflict veterans. We were all invited as representatives of East Texas Veterans in Washington DC on Memorial Day. I was honored to be part of this group of distinguished veterans and I am proud to call them all my brothers.

For most of us, this was our first time to meet and from the time we arrived at the airport on May 30 until we got back home on June 2 we were treated like royalty. Everywhere we went there was a large crowd shoving, hugging, loving, patting, shaking hands and saying “Thank you for your service.”  For three wonderful days this was our greeting everywhere we went. We left Tyler with a water cannon salute in a new American Airlines plane and we had the best crew on our direct flight to DC. 

The smoothest landing I have ever experienced was at 1:30 p.m. on May 30 at Reagan National Airport. The greeting at DC was wild with more cheers and people everywhere saying “Thank you for your service.”

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