The non-profit 501c3 volunteer organization called The Veterans Honor Flight is getting ready to leave for another flight to Washington D.C., with veterans living in Minnesota and North Dakota to see various memorials and landmarks in our nation’s capital dedicated to them. The veterans will board a plane, fly out of the Grand Forks International Airport on Sunday, September 11 at 8:00 a.m., and spend two days being chartered to multiple monuments and memorials before returning from Baltimore, Maryland, on Tuesday, September 13 at approximately 7:00 p.m. Some of the places they will see include Fort McHenry, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Arlington National Cemetery, the National Archives, FDR, the Air Force and Navy Memorial, Iwo Jima, and much more. Some of the Veterans being recognized from Crookston, Red Lake Falls, and Fertile are James Altepeter, James Chandler, Loren Johnson, Darrel Johnson, William Langlois, Drew Larson, James Schmitz, and Robert Valley.
James “Jim” Altepeter served in the Navy as a corpsman for four years where he was sent to various locations during his time of service, such as in a hospital for a year and a half, a Navy Publication Center for a year, and then as a nurse on a Destroyer warship that was off the coast of Vietnam for about eight months. “Mainly on a ship, as a destroyer and what we were out there for was to pick up downed pilots, but we never had to pick up any,” Altepeter said. We got hit by one torpedo that didn’t go off one time. I don’t know where it came from, it must have come from one of those sand pans that were circling around us once in a while, and I was lucky on that too.” He said he was one of the lucky few corpsmen who didn’t have to go and support the Marines as many of his friends who did support them didn’t come back. Since leaving the Navy, Altepeter worked as an Ironworker for 30 years before retiring. Altepeter is excited about the trip as he feels that the government and Veteran’s Affairs are showing their appreciation for its soldiers and what they’ve done for the country and get to see the various Memorials. He is also excited to meet with the other veterans who are going to share stories and discuss things with people who have been through the war with him without having to worry about anything.
James Chandler began his service in the Navy in May of 1967 and began boot camp in San Diego before leaving to an oiler just off of the Philippines, where they refilled ships in the Vietnam area for 16 months. For the final 16 months, he then served as Naval support and was a Storekeeper to bring in the parts for the mechanic team to fix before leaving in 1970. Chandler is excited that he has been chosen to go before he gets too old, and it will allow him to fully enjoy the trip. “It means a lot. When I signed up for this about three-four years ago, I didn’t expect to go until I was maybe in my 80s, and to go in my mid-70s while I can still get around real well, that means a lot to me,” said Chandler. “So, I’m pretty honored to be chosen this early, and there are about six of us out of the Crookston area going, and I knew most of them, so it’s going to be fun.” Chandler is excited to see everything in the nation’s capital but is primarily interested in seeing the Vietnam War monument.
Loren Johnson enlisted for the Navy straight out of High School right before he turned 18 and spent three years in the service for the Vietnam War before leaving to return to school and marry his wife. In Vietnam, he was on a Dock Landing Ship that acted like a safe haven for the soldiers to spend a few days without fear of being killed or shot at their camps. He then came back to the Navy reserve to retire in 1985. When he received the letter that he had been accepted for the flight program to D.C., Johnson said he was interested in seeing all of the memorials and sights they’d see but had one thing he wanted to find in particular. “I want to see it all, but Denny Anderson is a casualty from Crookston that has his name on the wall, and there’s a few others from Gentilly and Euclid, and we want to see if we can find the names,” said Johnson. Johnson is looking forward to spending time with all his fellow veterans to share their bond as soldiers and their stories while in service.
Darrel Johnson volunteered to join the Army in 1960 and served until 1971, where he served in Washington, then joined in the Vietnam War from July of 1969 to 1970 with the 101st Airborne Division, where he would walk point to scout the route ahead of his squad if there were any enemies on their route. Johnson said that he was honored and surprised to be chosen for the flight and plans to see the Korean, Vietnam, and World War II Memorials during his visit there and is excited to travel with fellow veterans. “There are quite a few guys from around Crookston and several more in Red Lake Falls and East Grand Forks. I know some of these guys, so it’s an honor to be there with them,” said Johnson.
William Langlois enlisted in the Army a month after he graduated the Cathedral High School in 1966 and entered basic training in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, with the Screaming Eagles, then went to Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, to receive schooling for 11 months on how to repair computers. He then received orders to go to Vietnam, where he was added to the 937th Combat Engineer Group, where he did recon work at night to spot the enemy and give forewarning to the unit. He was then sent to the city Qui Nhon to work on UNIVAC 10-03s and as security. He then entered the motor pool, where he drove colonels and generals to their destinations. Langlois is interested in traveling to the capital as it may help give him and other veterans some closure on some of the treatment they had received from others when they first returned from Vietnam. He’s also looking to see the Vietnam War Memorial and see the names of some of the people he knew in the war.
James “Jim” Schmitz was a part of the Army and volunteered for the draft during training camp. But during that time, his base was asked if anyone played musical instruments. He knew how to play the trumpet, so he stepped up and was brought into the First Infantry Division Army Band as the lead trumpet player. Despite believing this may have saved him from going to war, the division was moved to Vietnam, where he stayed from 1965 to 1966. While there, he participated in daily night and ambush patrols but also traveled to play Taps and many memorial services for fallen soldiers on both sides of the war before returning home to Fort Orange, California, to finish his assignment. Schmitz is very honored and thankful to all of the people who helped make the trip possible for him and the other veterans. He is looking forward to visiting the memorials to pay respects to his fellow soldiers with his trumpet. “The Vietnam Memorial is especially close to me because I have some friends that I knew and some local people from Red Lake Falls that got killed there, so we get to see their names on the wall,” said Schmitz. “At the Arlington Cemetery, since I’m going there, they’re allowing me to bring my trumpet, and I’ll be able to play “Taps” at one of the sites. I don’t know where it’ll be but maybe at the World War II memorial where we’ll be taking a group photo. So that’ll be neat for me to do that.”
Robert Valley was drafted and brought in to complete Basic and Advanced Individual Training in Seattle, Washington, before joining the 199th Light Infantry Brigade as a ground pounder. But in September of 1969, he was wounded in his service and forced to recover in a hospital for three months before returning home. Valley says he’s excited to go on the trip with other veterans and see a place he’s never been to before. “I’m excited for a little bit of everything, I’ve never been farther east than Chicago, and there’s a lot of friends of mine from Gentilly and Crookston like Darrel Johnson and Gary Weiss from Red Lake Falls coming together, all these guys I know them all. In fact, Gary Weiss and I were in the hospital together in Denver, Colorado, for a couple of months.”
Unfortunately, we could not contact Drew Larson about his service, but we congratulate and recognize him along with the other veterans listed above.
The veterans will leave from the Grand Forks International Airport for Washington D.C. on Sunday, September 11, at 8:00 a.m. and return on Tuesday, September 13, at 7:00 p.m. A second Honor Flight will be leaving from Hector International Airport Fargo on Sunday, October 2, with another set of veterans. To learn more about the Veteran Honor Flight program, you can visit www.veteranshonorflightofndmn.org/. Stay tuned to KROX and kroxam.com for more information about the other veterans traveling to Washington D.C., on September 11.
