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FOUR SELECTED FOR HONOR FLIGHT
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Tuesday was a whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. for four Guthrie Center World War II veterans who along with dozens of other Iowans were selected for a Central Iowa Honor Flight to the nation's capital.
Originally, Virgil Andresen, Oris Hoover and Jay Sheley were selected for Tuesday's Honor Flight. Late support funded a second plane and room for Gifford Covault.
The flight is part of a nationwide movement that raises funds to enable those men and women who served our country to view the memorial honoring their effort and sacrifice. Those selected for the flights are chosen after making application.
The fatiguing regimen included registration Monday afternoon and a pre-flight supper that evening. They checked in at the Airport Holiday Inn and were awakened for a 2:30 a.m. breakfast. Their plane departed at 6:30 a.m. and arrived at Dulles Airport at 11 a.m. (eastern) where they boarded chartered buses. The itinerary included a 90 minute visit at the World War II Memorial and also the Korean, Viet Nam and Iwo Jima Memorials and Arlington National Cemetery. After their long day, they made the 2-1/2 hour flight back to Des Moines, arriving at 11 p.m.
Virgil Andresen was a water tender 2nd class in the U.S. Navy. After basic training and diesel school at the University of Kansas, he served aboard the USS San Francisco, a 10,000 ton cruiser, in the South Pacific. He rode out several typhoons at sea.
Giff Covault enlisted in the Army Air Corps following Pearl Harbor. He served 3-1/2 years. He started as an airplane mechanic and was stationed in Alaska but spent his last two years learning to fly twin engine planes in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma. A second lieutenant, he also served five years in the reserves.
Oris Hoover served nearly four years from 1941-1945 in the U.S. Navy. A chief aviation machinist mate, he was stationed at Pearl Harbor a couple of years after aviation school and then at the Naval Air Base at Alameda, CA where he worked overhauling airplane engines.
Jay Sheley left for service while a senior in high school at Essex in fall 1944. He served on an LCI 652 (Landing Craft Infantry) vessel in the South Pacific and was a motor machinist 3rd class. He was discharged in July 1946 and had a three year commitment in the reserves.
Applications for future flights are available from Darcy Robson at Guthrie County Veterans Affairs, by calling 515-282-3599, or online at www.honorflight.org. Forms should be mailed to Central Iowa Honor Flight, P.O. Box 125, Council Bluffs, IA 51502. Donations are needed. They can be sent to the Council Bluffs address.
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©Guthrie Center Times 2010
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