Daughter joins father for Honor Flight
Editor’s note: Local attorney Patricia L. Campanaro attended the Sept. 10 Hudson Valley Honor Flight Mission 1000 with her father Joseph Campanaro. She shares her story about the experience.
The Sept. 10 Honor Flight included 88 World War II and Korean War veterans together with their guardians and Honor Flight personnel. I had the extreme honor of accompanying my personal hero — my father, Joseph Campanaro — as his guardian for this trip. My father resides in Poughkeepsie and is a 93- year-old World War II Navy Veteran who served on the aircraft carrier USS Tripoli during the war.
The veterans and their guardians met Saturday morning at 6 a.m. at ShopRite in Montgomery, Orange County, for registration and some refreshments, to begin their incredible journey. They then boarded buses for the trip to Stewart International Airport. The buses were escorted by police and an honor guard of numerous motorcycles all the way to the airport.
Upon reaching Stewart, the buses were met by a cheering crowd of friends, family, veterans’ groups, military, police, firemen and others. After a short ceremony in the airport terminal, an American Airlines chartered flight took the veterans and their guardians to Washington, D.C. for an unforgettable day of honor, tributes, visits to memorials and untold numbers of people greeting them, thanking them and wishing them well.
Some of the highlights of the trip included:
•Flying into Reagan International Airport to be met by a water cannon salute, cheering crowds, high school football teams and cheerleaders, families with children, airport personnel, all offering thanks and greetings to all of the veterans, most of whom were overwhelmed and teary-eyed at the wonderful welcome
•Meeting and chatting with Sen. Bob Dole at the World War II Memorial. Dole sat there for hours in the 95-degree heat, dressed impeccably in a white dress shirt, red, white and blue tie, and dress pants, talking with the veterans and graciously posing for photographs
•Seeing the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial and the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery
•Meeting numerous active military personnel who saluted them, shook their hands and thanked them for their service
•Being whisked through Washington, D.C., with a police escort, never having to get stopped by traffic, red lights or any other inconvenience — all in all, being treated like “rock stars” the entire day
One of the people on this trip was state Sen. Sue Serino who generously volunteered her time to be a guardian for one of the veterans.
The trip home was equally exciting. During the flight, the veterans were surprised with “mail call” during which every veteran received a large manila envelope filled with cards and letters from family, friends, school children and Scouts.
The veterans arrived back at Stewart at around 9:15 p.m. and were greeted by a brass band and a crowd of hundreds, clapping, whistling and cheering for them.
If anyone knows a veteran from World War II or the Korean War, they can contact the Hudson Valley Honor Flight organization at 845-391-0076 or online at hvhonorflight.com for applications and more information on future Honor Flights.