New friendship takes off on Honor Flight
CLYDE — Although they had never met, Larry Szczublewski of Rossford and Karen Langley of Clyde became fast friends when Langley served as Szczublewski ‘s volunteer guardian on a June 7 Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.
Honor Flight provides free trips for veterans to the capital’s war memorials to honor the veterans’ service and sacrifice.
Langley heard about Honor Flight when veteran Harry Burroughs of Clyde was a guest speaker at a local Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) meeting, where he talked about the opportunity to volunteer as an Honor Flight chaperone. Langley’s family has members who served in several different wars, beginning with the Revolutionary War.
“I have a really strong history with veterans, and I love veterans,” Langley said. “I was hoping to get a Korean War vet because I have an uncle who served in Korea.”
Langley served as Korean War veteran's aide on trip
Langley got her wish. Szczublewski, 89, joined the Air Force at age 17 in 1951, a year after the Korean War started.
“I had just graduated high school. There were no jobs available, so me and my friend flipped a coin to see if we’d join the Marines or the Air Force,” he said.
In June of 1951, Szczublewski and his friend drove to Toledo to join the Air Force. To their surprise, they were processed quickly and put on an airplane that night, where they flew away from family, friends, and the only life they had ever known. Their final stop of the trip was Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio.
“It was a different world,” he said.
Szczublewski was involved in top secret wor
Szczublewski was trained to work with guided missiles and, after much schooling, was stationed at Bitburg Air Force Base in Germany, where he underwent further training to work with nuclear warheads.
“During this period, I had top secret clearance,” he said.
Although Szczublewski’s work was important, he said one of the most memorable moments of the war came in an Amsterdam movie theater.
“It was Christmas, 1954, and I was on leave in Amsterdam. My friend John and I went to a movie theater, and they were playing ‘White Christmas’ with Bing Crosby,” Szczublewski said. “I think that was the only time I cried in my life. I was in a strange country on Christmas, and I finally figured out I had emotions.”
After serving in the Air Force for four years, Szczublewski returned home and found work with Western Electric, a subsidy of Ohio Bell. He became a field engineer, and his work took him to Washington, D.C. many times, so he had visited the war memorials before the Honor Flight trip.
Yet, this time was distinctive.
“It was just different to be with all those guys. It was different to go for a day and honor the dead,” Szczublewski said. “It was — I think I could say spiritual. You go there and honor the men who laid down their lives. You just look at it and think about how you’re still alive.”
Although the trip is free for veterans, the volunteer Guardians must pay $400 to cover expenses. Langley’s fee was donated by Clyde VFW, and she is grateful they helped her experience an Honor Flight.
“I’d never been to Washington, D.C. before. It was an eye-opener, and I loved listening to Larry’s stories,” Langley said. “I couldn’t stop talking about it for a week.”
Contact correspondent Sheri Trusty at sheritrusty4@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: New friendship takes off on Honor Flight
