Honor Flight Kern County: a journey to healing

Apr. 22—The first time The Californian sent this reporter to Washington, D.C. for a three-day assignment covering Honor Flight Kern County, there were only about 20 World War II veterans, plus their guardians and tour organizers aboard.

Last week, 11 years after that maiden flight, the newspaper again sent me to cover this exhausting yet incredible journey. Only this time, there were nearly 100 veterans and close to 85 volunteer guardians and support staff.

Honor Flight Kern County has grown in the past decade. It also has evolved and become better organized since that first flight in 2012, and now flies planeloads of military veterans to the U.S. capital twice a year, at no cost to the vets. The shared journey allows the men and women the chance to experience the nation's sights and memorials together, share meals together, and sometimes even a beer together, experiences that can be both cathartic and healing.

"Close to 2,000 veterans have flown on Honor Flight Kern County," said founder and director Lili Marsh.

And every one of them has a story.

HFKC concentrated for years on getting World War II and Korean War vets on those flights because their numbers had been falling precipitously. But in more recent years Honor Flight began accepting applications from Vietnam veterans and Cold War veterans.

It opened a floodgate.

"The huge numbers of applications received forced us to look into the possibility and plausibility of charter flights," Marsh said. "Taking 35 veterans out of Bakersfield commercially, just didn't compute."

Now with two charter flights a year they are able to keep up. But support from the community remains crucial.

"We rely 100 percent on generous donations from the community to ensure these flights continue to happen," Marsh said. "We had banked quite a bit since we didn't fly for a year and a half during Covid, but now those funds are running low and we need to appeal to our generous neighbors to ensure that we can continue to change the lives of our local heroes."

Many of the vets, she said, have been carrying around trauma, baggage and bad memories for decades — and while Honor Flight on the surface may look like a simple tour of the nation's capital, it is actually much more.

"It heals the hearts and minds of these heroes," she said. "Family members and friends continue to tell us their loved ones come home a changed person."

One thing that changes them is the realization that they are remembered, appreciated and yes, even honored. For many, it's a revelation.

On the second night of the trip, after dinner held in a big banquet room at the hotel, each veteran was called to the front of the room where trip leaders read short descriptions of their years of service in the U.S. military, and listed any medals or awards they received.

There was Gary McKibbin who was in the Army from 1964 to 1966. The Kern County veteran served with the 2nd Infantry Division at the DMZ in Korea.

And there was Doug Crawford, who was stationed in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and served with the 9th Infantry 191st Assault Helicopter Company at Bearcat Base Camp near Bien Hoa.

Each of the veterans received an Honor Flight medallion on a ribbon placed around their neck. And as they walked back to their tables, applause rang in their ears.

The excitement was palpable. Many times, U.S. Air Force veteran Dan Contreras rose from his seat to meet the veterans halfway and personally congratulate them as they walked back to their tables.

Contreras himself served as a crew chief on an F-4 fighter jet and as a flight engineer on a C-141 cargo plane during the Vietnam War. He was stationed at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand for 14 months.

The myriad accomplishments and deeds are too long to list here, but watching the faces of the vets, it seemed clear that most had not received this sort of recognition for the years they had sacrificed and all they had given up in order to fulfill their oath of enlistment.

There also were a few combat veterans who had received medals for bravery and valor — and as they stood before their peers, the applause and cheers were thunderous.

One of the favorites of the night was Earle Cooper, 79, a former Army officer and Vietnam veteran who is the recipient of two Silver Stars, the third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The veteran of the Battle of Hamburger Hill also received two Air Medals (for helicopter-based combat), an Army Commendation Medal, a Combat Infantry Badge, a Bronze Star, a Presidential Unit Citation and a Purple Heart.

In a private conversation, Cooper recalled living in the bush for months at a time. He remembered walking through 6-foot high elephant grass that would cut his hands and face and even slice open his jungle fatigues.

He climbed into tunnels looking for enemy soldiers.

Cooper even described using the lit end of cigarettes to force leeches to release their grip and fall from his body.

Everyone was honored at the banquet, but Cooper and others like him were considered remarkable among their appreciative peers.

As Honor Flight's Marsh suggested, there are many stories to be told.

One last story arrived late to this reporter.

Paul Jones, 78, one of the Honor Flight veterans, served in not just one, but two branches of the armed forces. He joined the Air Force in July 1963 and served for four years, until July 1967.

The Mississippi native came close to being deployed to Vietnam, but was honorably discharged before his number came up.

After he moved to Bakersfield in 1981, he joined the U.S. Navy and served with the Seabees as a construction equipment mechanic until 2005.

"I was 22 when I got out of the Air Force," Jones said. "I was 38 when I joined the Seabees.

"I became a dirt sailor," he said, referring to the nickname for the enlisted men who worked in the Navy's construction battalions.

Jones would ultimately serve 28 years in the military, where he did a lot of work and worked a lot of jobs.

Like many veterans who did not experience combat, Jones felt for a time that he might not be worthy of Honor Flight.

Nonsense, say Honor Flight organizers.

They are adamant that all those who served honorably, whether overseas or stateside, deserve the recognition and gratitude befitting a U.S. military veteran.

But Jones has been fighting another kind of battle, and in recent weeks the enemy, a rare cancer, gained the advantage.

For Harry Franco, who served as Jones' guardian on Flight 46, learning of his new friend's battle with cancer came as a shock.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in both the Gulf War and the war in Iraq, Franco said he and Jones developed a close bond over the three days they were together.

"It was awesome. I had a veteran who was funny, not afraid to share stories with me and he trusted me the whole trip," Franco said. "He gave me a big hug when we parted ways after I met his family."

When he learned Jones may be fighting his last battle, his instincts as guardian kicked in even more.

"He is prepared for the worst," Franco said of his new friend. "He already has his urn which will be placed in the Model A Ford that he restored — and his wife and two good friends will drive it to his final resting place.

"He even told me if something happened while on the trip who to call to have him cremated there in Washington and they would ship his ashes home cheaper than shipping his whole body home."

Jones, in his Mississippi drawl, said he's fully prepared should his time come.

"It don't make no nevermind," he said of the cremation plan. "I'll be with the good Lord anyway."

Reporter Steven Mayer can be reached at 661-395-7353. Follow him on Facebook and on Twitter: @semayerTBC