Local veterans, FROM LEFT, Eugene Loepker, Bob Netemeyer and Maurice Eversgerd received a certificate of appreciation following a virtual Honor Flight on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Standin' Proud Museum in Bartelso. Photo by Matt Wilson Three local veterans were given a virtual Honor Flight on Wednesday, Nov. 5, at Standin’ Proud Museum in Bartelso.
Maurice Eversgerd and Eugene Loepker from Germantown and Bob Netemeyer from Albers were all taken on a virtual Honor Flight led by Joan Bortolon and Steve Wheeler from the Land of Lincoln Honor Flight (LLHF). Bortolon is the LLHF executive board president and Wheeler is the LLHF veteran coordinator.
A standing room only crowd of both family members and community members were in attendance to watch the Honor Flight.
Eversgerd is an Army veteran from the Vietnam era. He enlisted Sept. 12, 1963, and went to basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. He was transferred to Tulle, France, and did various TDYs to the area countries where he built air strips, helicopter pads, bridges and other necessary fields for the Army. Eversgerd was transferred to Germany and with six months left to go on his enlistment, his dad had a heart attack, so he was sent home on a one-month hardship furlough. Had he not gone home at that time, Eversgerd could have been called into the Vietnam War. He finished his term at Fort Leonard Wood before retiring. He was awarded a letter of commendation.
Loepker is a veteran of the Army Reserves. He entered the Army Reserves on April 30, 1960, at Fort Jackson, South Dakota. He was discharged Oct. 17, 1965, at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana.
Netemeyer is an Air Force Reserves veteran. He enlisted in the Air Force in June 1972 and went to basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He then went to tech school at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. Netemeyer did administrative work for the chief master sergeant at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado. He was transferred to Scott Air Force Base in 1974. He remained active duty until May 1976. In 1977, Eversgerd joined the Air Force Reserves until his retirement in April 1995. While in the reserves, he received the Air Force achievement medal, the Air Force foundation medal and a certificate of recognition for the service in the 375th air craft maintenance squadron.
Each of the veterans received a name tag before the virtual flight and mail and a certificate of appreciation after the flight.
“It truly is a very special day for our guests and our veterans,” event organizer Kathy Rakers Kampwerth said. “This is the day these veterans have truly deserved from the day they signed their name on the line. You guys deserve all of the celebrations and all of the respect in the world. We appreciate what you have done for us.”
Wheeler said the veterans deserved to go on the Honor Flight.
“We can’t thank you enough for what you have done for us,” Wheeler said. “We have lived a privileged life style that we take for granted almost every day, but that is because of what you have done. We can shake your hand and pat you on the back, but that is just not enough.”
Honor Flight was started in 2005, one year after the World War II memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. There are now 160 Honor Flight hubs in the nation. Land of Lincoln has done 76 Honor Flights and have flown 6,200 veterans out of Springfield. The flightless program was put together for the World War II and Korean veterans who said they could not go to Washington, D.C., for an Honor Flight.
“The idea hit me that if these veterans can’t come to us, we are going to come to them,” Wheeler said.
Clinton County Board member Greg Riechman said they have sent about 150 to 200 veterans from Clinton County on Honor Flights through Springfield, Marion or St. Louis over the last two years. The goal for next year, because of celebrating 250 years of America, is to have 250 veterans from the area on Honor Flights. They want to sign up at least another 100 veterans to reach that goal.
The veterans were greeted with applause as they landed in the Washington, D.C., airport. The group then loads onto four tour buses.
The United States Park Police escorted them to their sites.
Their first stop was the World War II Memorial, which is dedicated to the 16.1 million Americans who served during World War II. There is a Pacific and Atlantic entrance, and they went through the Pacific entrance. They were greeted by a group of students with signs thanking the veterans. There are 56 granite pillars around the memorial, which represent a state or a territory at the time of the war. Following a group picture, there is time for everyone to explore the memorial.
Their second stop is at the other end of the reflecting pond for their trifecta stop, and then the National Korean War Memorial which was completed in 1995. It is funded and maintained by the Republic of South Korea. It is dedicated to the 1.8 million Americans who served in the 38 months of the Korean Conflict. There are 19 statues that depict soldiers at the field and all branches of the military that served in Korea are represented. There also is a reflecting wall and wall of remembrance at the memorial.
The next stop was the National Vietnam War memorial, which was dedicated in 1982 to the three million American soldiers who served between 1955-1975 in Vietnam. It is two V-shaped marble walls that are 10 feet high in the center and then they decrease down to either end. The memorial is 140 panels and there are 58,286 names engraved on the panels. The names are listed by date of death.
Next stop was the Lincoln Memorial.
The group then heads back to the buses where they have lunch and head out to Chantilly, Virginia, to see the National Air and Space Museum. The museum opened in 2009 and has the largest selection of vintage aircrafts. It features the Enola Gay B-29 aircraft, which dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and brought the end of World War II in the Pacific. It also features the Space shuttle Discovery and other NASA memorabilia. Right in front of the Discovery is the VSR-71 Blackbird which holds the land speed records for the fastest jet ever.
They take about a 25-minute ride back into Arlington, Virginia, to the United States Marine Corps Memorial. It was dedicated in 1954 and depicts the morning of Feb. 23, 1945, when the fourth and fifth Marine divisions invaded Iwo Jima. Six men reached the top of Mount Suribachi and planted the American flag that became the iconic picture of the War in the Pacific.
The group then goes to the United States Air Force Memorial, which is the newest of the memorials they visit. It was dedicated in 2006. There are three stainless steel spires that are 270 feet high and they represent the core values of the United States Air Force - integrity, service before self, and excellence. It is on the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery.
The last stop is Arlington National Cemetery where they will see the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown. Their whole day has been scheduled around getting to Arlington National Cemetery at the correct time. Arlington National Cemetery is 624 acres and growing. They do 30 funerals a day and they are backed up with burials about two months. It is the only cemetery to have a representative buried from every American war and three enemy combatants are buried.
The Tomb of the Unknown was dedicated in 1932 and holds the remains of World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam era unknown soldiers. The tombs are guarded 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
“They are very dedicated and for most of them, being a tomb guard is the epitome of their career,” Bortolon said.
The group then heads back to the airport, gets dinner, and boards the plane to head back to Springfield. The three veterans all received a mail call where they received letters of thanks.
There was about 1,000 people welcoming the veterans home when they got back to Springfield.
Riechman thanked all the veterans and their family members for attending the virtual Honor Flight.
“Thank you veterans for your service,” Riechman said. “Also, thanks to the family members that are here today. It just warms my heart to see the wives, the brothers, the sisters, the daughters, the sons, the grandchildren and the great- grandchildren here. It is something special and it’s our pleasure to do this.”
Riechman informed the crowd about Whispering Pines of Clinton County. There is unlimited access to fishing and hiking. They have a Memorial Day ceremony in May, a Wounded Warrior camping event in July, a veterans appreciation day in October, and in the fall and winter, they have a veteran-guided crossbow hunt.
Riechman encouraged the crowd to support Wreaths Across America in December.
Jim Beasley, a Kaskaskia College Board of Trustees member and veteran, told the crowd more names were needed for the Jim Beasley Veterans Tribute wall at Kaskaskia College.
Emily Eilers, the veterans service coordinator at Kaskaskia College, said they are currently collecting names for the tribute wall and need about 1,400 more to fill out a side of the wall. She encouraged everyone to come out to the college and see the wall.
Riechman said veterans service coordinator Colbey Voss has an office at the Clinton County Courthouse and is available to help veterans.
“It is a very important and new position,” Riechman said.
