WWII Vets Embark On Final Flight Of Honor Of 2010
Flight Carries 100 Vets To See Washington Memorials
POSTED: 12:44 pm EDT October 30, 2010
UPDATED: 7:26 pm EDT October 30, 2010
About 100 World War II veterans took off on Saturday's Triad Flight of Honor to visit their memorial in Washington, D.C.The flight, which took off from Piedmont International Airport at about 8 a.m., was the sixth and final flight of the year for the war veterans."I was lucky I was in the Navy, but some of these guys … People just don't realize what these folks went through," said 90-year-old Willard Pendleton, of Asheboro.Pendleton said he transported troops in two of the last big battles at Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He was never injured.Bill Coleman, 83, of Eden, was just 15 when he was called into duty. Saturday's was his first flight ever."I was one of the very fortunate ones, went all the way through and never got shot at," Coleman said.Dusty Lathrop was one of the few women on board. She was 21 when she went to war, taking care of wounded soldiers. Her husband was a GI."The tears keep coming down because I just feel so happy and it feel wonderful and also to be chosen, because when I got the letter, (they first said) I had to wait until next year," Lathrop said. "Then, later the tears came down because I was accepted."The Triad Flight of Honor is a service project of Rotary District 7690. It involves flying war veterans from 11 counties in the Piedmont to visit WWII memorial sites in Washington for free.The veterans will return to the Triad at about 8:30 p.m.
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