Two WWII Vets Stunned by Honor Flight to D.C. Memorial

In his days in the Navy in Iwojima and Okinawa, Japan, Ray Norris could steer a submarine using only a compass and a chart. He kept his cool. But when he got the chance to go to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II Memorial there, he was speechless.

"I was in awe," he said. "That thing is beautiful, and it's huge."

Along with Richard Dunne, a fellow resident of Crestview Senior Living on the edge of Affton, Norris got to take the trip through Honor Flight, a nonprofit charity that works to honor all World War II veterans with a trip to the memorial in Washington, D.C.

Norris could not say enough good things about the organization and the care they took in giving the servicemen the respect they deserved.

Dunne, who said he is 50 percent disabled due to a gunshot wound in his back, had a bittersweet trip. His friend Jim, also a resident at Crestview, put his name in for the Honor Flight, but Jim passed away before he was able to take the trip.

They arrived at the airport at 6 a.m., where they flew to Baltimore and were bused to D.C. Once there they were taken to the airport, where they were met by many well wishers.

"When we got there, there were thousands of people waving and yelling to us," Norris said. "They were saying things like 'Thank you for your service!'"

Children would ask if they could have their pictures taken with the men, and they said they felt like the war heroes that they are. Honor Flight took care of all the details, including providing each guest with a wheelchair when they got to the memorial so they would not have to walk.

"Many of us had caregivers with us," said Norris, who took his son, Jim Norris. They had to pay for their guests, but everything was completely free for the servicemen. Dunne's daughter Kathleen Hayden went with him on the trip.

Dunne was a private in the Army Infantry from 1943-46 and was in Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

"I was like Private Ryan on the beach that day," he said, referring to the movie Saving Private Ryan.

Thirty seven days after that invasion, Dunne was injured and spent 10 months in the hospital before returning to limited duty

"I appreciated the trip," said the 86-year-old, who still has nightmares about the war. "But I am trying to forget the war."

During World War II, Norris was a helmsman on a submarine. The helmsman steered the submarine during times of duress or ‘condition red,’ when precise maneuvering was required.

Norris said he appreciated being able to take a trip like this with his son in part because it reminded him of his days in the Navy when money was tight.

"Back then they didn't give my wife enough money to live on, so I would take $2 out of my pay check and send the rest home to her," he said.

Two years ago, Jim Norris found out about Honor Flight and put his father's name in. They toured various memorials on their trip, but no moment was as meaningful to Ray Norris, who also served as a mailman when he was in the service, as the plane trip coming home.

"They had mail call for us on the plane," he said. "All of my family had written me letters like they were welcoming me home. I got a whole pile of letters."

And many of the letters were written to him by people he didn't even know. 

"One little boy wrote, 'If it hadn't been for you I wouldn't be here,'" he said. "All of this was due to Honor Flight. They are all volunteers."