Honor Flight's lone World War II veteran: 'I'm just proud to be here'
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Asheville's Eugene Jaroslaw was all smiles at 6 a.m. Oct. 14 at the Asheville Regional Airport as veterans and their guardians arrived to board the Blue Ridge Honor Flight for the trip to Washington to see the war memorials.
The 99-year-old native New Yorker was being greeted all morning long by veterans and guardians, thanking him for his service to his country. After the April 29 flight didn't have a World War II veteran on board for the first time in Blue Ridge Honor Flight's history, people were happy to see Jaroslaw's smiling face.
He was supposed to be one of two World War II veterans on the flight, but the other veteran had to cancel due to a medical issue, Blue Ridge Honor Flight founder Jeff Miller said.
"So, I found out I'll be representing all World War II veterans today for the trip, and I'm proud to be able to do so," Jaroslaw said.
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Jaroslaw said he joined the U.S. Air Force as a navigation cadet in 1942.
"I wanted to be a pilot, but they decided to make me a bombardier," he said. "I went to bombardier school for nine months. On the last week, I was washed out, so I never made it."
Jaroslaw said he ended up going to flight engineering school and was later sent to India and China, where he did missions over the Himalayas.
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"I made 23 trips over the Himalayan Hump," he said.
During World War II, the "Himalayan Hump" was a nickname pilots gave to the route over the Himalayas, where they flew military transport aircraft from India to China.
After returning home from the war, Jaroslaw said he had a couple of business failures and eventually went to work for his father, who was a jeweler. Several years later, he became interested in what he said was called "cohousing" back then.
"I tried it in New York City, but the land was just too expensive. I found out a group was coming together in Asheville, so I joined that group some 30-odd years ago. It's Westwood Cohousing. I've been living there ever since," he said.
He said he's loved his life in Asheville.
"I'm just delighted to live here in Asheville. I'm a New Yorker, but Asheville to me has everything that New York does ... just in a smaller way," he said.
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The Oct. 14 Blue Ridge Honor Flight was Jaroslaw's first trip to Washington to see the war memorials. All through the trip, people kept walking up to him telling him what an honor it was to talk with him and to have him there.
"It's just an honor to be here," he said.
Want to learn more?
To learn more and to fill out an application as a guardian or veteran for future flights, visit blueridgehonorflight.com/apply-now or call the office at 828-776-0650.
Guardians pay $400 each to escort a veteran. Veterans fly for free. Flights are funded by donations from individuals, corporations, foundations, schools, military organizations and other fraternal organizations. No funding is received from the government for the flights. Anyone wishing to make donations can go to blueridgehonorflight.com/donate.
The flights are twice a year, with one in the spring and one in the fall. The 2024 flight dates haven't yet been scheduled.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Asheville's Baroslaw is lone World War II veteran on Honor Flight
