Local veterans attend Honor Flight

By Christina Rice

Five Nodaway County veterans attend the Veterans Honor Flight to Washington, DC, on September 26.

The flight creates a special day honoring those who have served our country. Local participants were Bob Colville, who served in the Navy, and Army veterans Robert Jobst, Richard Jobst, William Rabel and Roland Tullberg.

Richard Jobst and his brother, Robert Jobst, model the shirts and hats they received while on the Honor Flight.

Each veteran is assigned a companion for the day who picks them up at their home, takes them to the airport, wheels them in a wheelchair if needed and attends to their needs throughout the day. The companions return the veterans to their homes at the end of the day.

The September flight left Kansas City at 5:30 am, allowing for a full day of sight seeing. Some of the places participants visited included the World War II Memorial, Korean Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Roosevelt Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and others.

The veterans were provided with breakfast, lunch and snacks and took a bus tour of Washington, DC, as well.

One of the things the Jobst brothers said they most enjoyed was the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier and seeing the graves in Arlington. The group happened to be at the cemetery at the same time that a funeral was occurring, making quite an impression on the veterans. The tour guide told them there were more than 450,000 soldiers buried there.

“We’d seen a lot of things I never dreamed I’d see. It was a great experience,” Richard stated.

The Jobst brothers from Parnell were escorted by sisters, Catherine Auffert and Lynette Auffert, also of Parnell.

“They were the best. They were beside you like a leader dog. Anything you wanted, they got it,” Robert said.

Each veteran taking the flight is presented with a photo book of the experience during a ceremony in November.

“There’s no way we can tell you what we saw and experienced without you going yourself. We couldn’t have had a better experience,” Richard said.