“It’s great heart and mind stuff,” State Assemblyman Steve Hawley says of the recent Patriot Trip he hosted for local veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the monuments, museums and memorials dedicated to America’s armed service members. It was the sixth such trip that Hawley has led and he says he is affectionately known as “Mr. Microphone” during the annual journeys.
“Patriot Trip VII is on its way,” he says. This year’s trip ran from Thursday, September 19 to Sunday, September 22 and included visits to landmarks such as the WWII, Vietnam, Korean and Iwo Jima memorials as well as Arlington Cemetery and a wreath-laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns. This year’s trip included the most new veterans, Hawley says. Sixty-four of the 104 people who made the trip – including four staff members – were making the journey for the first time. The itinerary changes a bit every year, Hawley explains. This year the group visited the American History Museum for the first time, he notes.
This year’s tour also featured women veterans laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, Hawley says. One was a 90-year old WWII veteran, another an Iraqi War active duty service member, and a third was a woman veteran from the Vietnam War.
Next year, Korean War era veterans will be featured for the ceremony, Hawley says.
He says it had been raining just before the wreath laying, but as the ceremony began “the clouds cleared and the rain stopped. It was wet, but there was no rain.
“It’s an amazing listening tour for me,” Hawley, who is the ranking minority member of the Assembly Committee on Veterans Affairs, says.
The Patriot Trip replicates a trip Hawley made with his father (a WWII vet and former state Assemblyman) as a Father’s Day gift several years ago.
“For all veterans, the monuments bring about a shared togetherness. It’s cathartic and emotional,” Hawley explains. “It helps them realize they are appreciated, respected and honored.”
The Patriot Trip takes place annually the third weekend in September, after the weather begins to cool, Hawley says.
He notes that because of strong community support in the 139th District and donations from local businesses, civic and professional organizations, the cost of the trip per person has dropped from $475 to $350.
The price includes roundtrip private coach transportation, accommodations at Quantico Marine Base in Virginia and most meals.
Just days after Assemblyman Hawley’s Patriot Trip, Honor Flight Rochester took another group of local veterans to Washington D.C. the weekend of September 28.
Honor Flight accommodates local veterans (WWII, Korea) who would otherwise never be able to visit their own memorials in the nation’s capital.
Thanks to generous private donations, veterans travel for free with Honor Flight.
Walter Horylev of Hilton was one of the veterans on the September 28-29 trip and says the Hilton-Parma-Hamlin Chamber of Commerce sponsored him. Carm Carmestro drove him to the airport at 3:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and Dave Tresohlavy picked him up Sunday afternoon.
There were 41 WWII and three Korean War vets on the trip and each had their own “guardian” to assist. Horylev says two women veterans including a former WAC made the trip and seven of the vets were in their 90s.
During the less than hour-long flight to Baltimore, packages of letters from school children were handed out and read.
“Mine were from a range of ages from a school in Bloomfield,” Horylev says. “There were 15 interesting letters and all ‘thanked me for my service.’ ”
Horylev called the entry into the Baltimore/Washington Airport “unbelievable.” The plane received a water cannon salute and the veterans were greeted by whoops, cheers and clapping from hundreds of uniformed armed forces personnel and civilians.
“It was completely unexpected and wonderful,” Horylev says. “I was in tears for a short while, adjusting to the moment.”
The group had a busy itinerary visiting the WWII Memorial – “It was spectacular,” Horylev says – the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Air Force Memorial and the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington Cemetery. The tour ended with a stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial.
The Honor Flight group returned to Rochester at 11:30 Sunday morning and was greeted with cheers and handshakes, Horylev says.
“I was very impressed with the group of Honor Flight volunteers,” he adds. “I liked the way the volunteers treated the vets, some of whom were pretty fragile looking. Everything was done with patience and consideration. My guardian, Tim Hedges, wouldn’t let me carry my small travel bag anywhere. If you are a WWII or Korean vet, take this trip!”
The guardian volunteers pay their own way on the trips, Horylev notes. The September trip was the 31st for Honor Flight Rochester.
There is one more Honor Flight trip this year, in October, Horylev says.
Editor’s note: Walter Horylev is a freelance photographer for Westside News Inc. Photos of his trip accompany this article.
10/6/13
