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 Red Lake Falls, Euclid, and Fertile are Gary Weiss, Joseph Stroot, Richard Beauchane, James Rystad, and Ted and Jerome Schindler.
Gary Weiss was drafted into the Army in the late fall of 1968 and completed his basic and advanced training in Fort Lewis in Washington before he was sent to Vietnam, where he served with the 101st Air Division. But after being there for three months, Weiss was wounded and had to be medevacked to Japan and then to a hospital in Denver, Colorado. After recovering, he was sent to Fort Hood in Texas, where he finished the final two years of his term. Weiss voiced his excitement for the trip as he had talked to other veterans who had gone on the trip and was pleased with what he heard from others. “I’m pretty excited because I’ve talked to a few people about it, and they have nothing but good to say about it, so I’m very excited,” said Weiss. Weiss said he’s excited to see everything that the veterans will go to in D.C. but is mostly interested in seeing the Vietnam Wall as he says he knows a few names on it and would like to see them again.
Joseph Stroot is a farmer living in Euclid that served in the Army from November 1966 to 1969 and was in Vietnam from May 1967 to January 1968 after being wounded on duty. He was a part of the 15th Combat Engineers of the 9th Infantry Division. “I was a rome plow operator that cleared the jungle for artillery alongside of the roads to make there less of a chance for ambushes and things like that.” Stroot is honored to have been chosen to go and is interested in flying there as he never got to ride on the “Freedom Bird,” which was a common conversation topic during the war as he was medevacked out and will finally have the opportunity to. Stroot is also interested in seeing the Vietnam War as there are some people he knew from Crookston who died in the war and would like to see their names on the wall.
Richard Beauchane was looking for an adventure in the war and signed up for the Marine Corp in 1967 while he was in High School and went to Memphis, Tennessee, to be trained as an aviation mechanic. He was soon sent to Vietnam when he was only 19, where he became a Crew Chief on the Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361 (HMH-361), where they worked to fix and maintain the squadron of 12 helicopters that went from base to base around Vietnam. “There were about 12 helicopters we had to take care of. We were almost like custodians with them, as that was our job. Wherever that helicopter went, I went with it as the door gunner and also to take care of it,” said Beauchane. “But we always did medivacs missions that caused us to get shot at.” While on a Medivac mission a little over a year into his service in Vietnam, Beauchane’s helicopter took heavy fire when they landed to load up wounded soldiers, which wounded him also and caused him to return home in 1968. Beauchane believes it to be a great honor that he was chosen and is excited to go on the trip with some of his fellow veterans, such as Drew Larson, and wants to see the Vietnam Memorial and search for the names of some of his friends that didn’t make it back.
James Rystad joined the Navy in 1966 and was sent to the Da Nang Air Base in 1968, where he spent 13 months and was initially intended to be a part of the Brown-water Navy, but he was transferred to a new unit before he returned home in 1969. Rystad was honored to be chosen and is excited to see the original Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C. “I’ve seen the Vietnam Wall a couple of different times, but to actually go out there and see the original that has been set up there and see if I can find the names of a couple of soldiers that were the same age as me that didn’t come home in 1967-68 and see if I can find their name on the wall if I have the time. It’s a heartfelt deal,” said Rystad. Rystad is excited to be going with fellow veterans he’s familiar with from Red Lake Falls and other areas but voiced his excitement in seeing the Changing of the Guard. As he’d never seen it in person before and believes it would hold a special meaning to him and the others.
Ted Schindler was drafted into the Army in 1954 but was fortunate to stay stateside during the Vietnam War. He received basic training and was assigned to the Army Security Agency (ASA). He then went to a signal school in Georgia and was assigned to the 8th Infantry in Fort Carson in Colorado around the end of the Korean War. Afterwards he was assigned to the Signal School with an Infantry Division, where he taught other cadets signaling. Schindler says that while he didn’t see any combat, he said his experience was great for him, and he met many friends during his time in the service. He also believes the trip to D.C. will be very enjoyable and is happy that his nephew is joining him on the journey. “I have a nephew that’s coming along, and he’s helping me through this. It should be very enjoyable. He’s excited and willing to help me out,” said Schindler.
Jerome Schindler was in a part of the Army for three years as a mechanic beginning in 1967, where he also spent 18 months in Germany and his final year in Vietnam. Though he was there for three years, he says he didn’t do much mechanic work because the boat yards did most of it. Though while he didn’t do as much as others did in the war, Schindler is still proud of his service regardless. “I’m just proud that I served. I was over there for one year and was proud to be there. And when I see young men and women nowadays, I always thank them because whether they agree or not, they are doing what they are told, and they’re doing a good job.” Schindler is excited to be traveling with many of his fellow veterans in Red Lake Falls, as it’ll feel like they’re almost returning to the service somehow.
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/.
