Local Veterans on Never Forgotten Honor Flight Return Home

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2024 -- 10:00 AM

(Thomas Schumacher, WSAU) The 47th Never Forgotten Honor Flight returned home late Monday night to a large crowd of supporters eager to cheer for each of the 105 veterans.

According to Thomas Schumacher with WSAU, most of the veterans served in U.S. conflicts such as the Korean War and Vietnam, and each of the veterans received loud applause and cheers from their family, friends, and onlookers as they walked down the CWA airport toward the exit.

One of the veterans who took the “trip of a lifetime” was Alvin Scherwinski, and he said the best of the day was not one of the monuments but was instead when he received kind words from back home.

“When we got on the bus to go back to the airport, we were presented with these packages of letters, which I know my wife had something to do with it, but I had letters from high school…friends of mine…we never talked on this level about how appreciative they were about what we did, and it was just incredible.” When asked what advice he had for future veterans who take the trip, he kept it short, saying simply, “Take it all in.”

The Never Forgotten Honor Flight has served veterans in 13 counties around central Wisconsin since 2005, and World War II as well as Korean War veterans are encouraged to apply to get on the next flight as priority is given to those veterans.

If a veteran is certified terminally ill by a doctor but able to travel, he or she moves up the priority list no matter what their era of service. Eight Clark County veterans were on the flight including three from Dorchester, one from Greenwood, two from Loyal, one from Neillsville, and one from Thorp.

Twenty-Eight veterans from Marathon County, including one from Abbotsford, were on the flight. Ten veterans from Wood County were also on the flight including four from Marshfield and five from Wisconsin Rapids.

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