Words Are Not Enough

by

Words Are Not Enough

By Alysia English

When the sun rises on May 6, the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport will be teeming with hundreds of volunteers creating “the best day of their lives” for 95 World War II, Korea and Vietnam veterans. A full year in the making, the 2017 Coastal Georgia Honor Flight will abound with smiles, greetings and more than a few emotional moments during this day of recognition and remembrance for area veterans.

Mark “Beau” Beaudry, 2017 flight leader, will be front and center, along with 2017 board president Dave Olender. Beaudry, a big-hearted, enthusiastic Air Force veteran, will assume command of the day’s logistics. For Beaudry, no task is too great or too small to merit total focus. Olender, a Vietnam Army veteran, is a strategic thinker with penetrating eyes that miss nothing and anticipate everything. Together, they have led a committee that has corralled, cajoled, organized, and raised funds for an event requiring as much logistical support as any Armed Forces battalion headed to a military campaign. Additional 2017 Honor Flight board members include: Chandra Kendall, Gary Tjaden, James Vivenzio, Bennie Williams, Alex Thompson, Beth Martin Lane, Duane Harris, and Alysia English. The board embraces President John F. Kennedy’s words, “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

Olender sums it up well: “There are never enough words to say ‘thank you’ to our veterans for their efforts on behalf of our country. Words are not enough, so community volunteers collectively will spend approximately 6,300 hours to create each Honor Flight. That’s roughly equivalent to 3 people working full-time for a year!”

Strong community support and donations have almost doubled the number of veterans who can be recognized, from 2016’s 54 veterans to the 2017 maxed-out flight, which will transport 95 veterans, 60 guardians and a full complement of support personnel. The 2017 Honor Flight costs $1000 per veteran; all contributions are tax-deductible, with one hundred percent directly supporting the event.

Immediately after each year’s flight, the group initiates planning for the following year. After scheduling the date with Arlington National Cemetery and the Honor Flight Network, Olender and Beaudry identify and secure a charter commercial aircraft, large enough to accommodate the targeted number of veterans and support. The aircraft stands as the single largest expense for an Honor Flight: over $58,000 out of a $95,000 budget.

The Glynn County Airport Commission and Brunswick Golden Isles Airport staff wholeheartedly support Honor Flight, dedicating numerous hours both prior to and during the flight day. Extensive planning meetings leave nothing to chance—from Homeland Security TSA pre-certification of passengers, parking and traffic flow, accommodation of regular airport passengers, to security and separately marked event walkways. In addition to airport personnel, Glynn County police and fire departments offer hands-on security and safety. The board also secures volunteers divided into major functional areas: community events; volunteer coordination; applications; medical; finance and fund-raising; publicity; training; mail call; veteran gifts; and food.

Beaudry can’t say enough about the support, “Pre-planning is critical, so we hold several joint meetings at the airport. The May 6 event brings over 200 additional people to the airport in the morning--those on the flight and volunteers, plus all our supplies for the day. Wheelchairs, food, water, medical equipment, oxygen generators, cameras, police, firefighters…The sheer volume is overwhelming. TSA has to search and certify all of the material that moves into the secure area. Our police officers direct traffic and secure roadways both in the morning and evening. Airport personnel coordinate every detail, all while performing their regular jobs. The evening homecoming draws an even larger crowd. It is an amazing collaboration, without which Honor Flight would not be possible.”

Olender states, “People involved in other volunteer work understand the large number of moving parts. This effort is perhaps a bit more complicated because we have three different locations—here, the Baltimore airport and Washington, DC, for the tour. We are dealing with the federal government, monument scheduling and Homeland Security at two different airports, not to mention the aging and health concerns of our WWII and Korea veterans. Our WWII veterans are given priority, so we constantly adjust participants until close to the flight date. If there is not enough space for all applicants, we automatically add their names to next year’s flight list.”

The 2017 flight includes three physicians and three nurses who volunteer their time to accompany the event for the day. The medical personnel are assigned in doctor/nurse pairs to each of the three buses. Each veteran and guardian completes an extensive health questionnaire that will accompany the group on the flight. Physicians review each application to ensure ability to undertake a 15-hour day. Once completed, all veterans, guardians, and support personnel head to an April training day.

There, participants are briefed on the day’s schedule, responsibilities of guardians, health support that is available, and what to expect. Each veteran receives a commemorative hat, tee shirt, backpack, and color-coded name badge. Additional goodies such as Honor Flight logo blankets and Operation Gratitude boxes are delivered during training so the veteran can travel hands-free during the actual event. Upon arrival at the airport, local volunteers coordinate a quick breakfast before boarding. Three buses will claim the group upon arrival at the Baltimore, Maryland airport, also arranged months in advance by the committee.

The tour includes all the major military monuments in Washington, giving each man or woman time to reflect, to grieve, and to share stories from their days of active service. This year’s schedule includes the WWII Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Changing of the Guard, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and the Korea, Vietnam, Lincoln, and Navy Memorials.

The group encourages the community to celebrate at the Brunswick Golden Isles Airport Homecoming Celebration on May 6 at 9:00 p.m. As they exit the plane, veterans are perhaps most proud receiving the symbol of the country they have served so well. Each receives a boxed commemorative flag that has flown over the US Capitol. “Please come and help give our veterans a heroes’ welcome,” invites Beaudry. “The joy of that homecoming will stay with you forever. There are few dry eyes when these valiant men and women see the huge turnout. Veterans have said it’s like being in a movie, seeing the firefighters with the fire-hose water arch, all the townspeople there to greet them, the flags, the hugs… We hope as many people as possible will join us again this year on May 6.”

For additional information, to volunteer or to donate, visit coastalgeorgiahonorflight.org. As a 501 (c) 3 non-profit corporation, Coastal Georgia Honor Flight, Inc. accepts tax deductible donations by credit card using PayPal on the website or though checks mailed to PO Box 20466, St. Simons Island, GA  31522. All donations are greatly appreciated.