May 6

Written by: ngreditor
5/6/2009 9:55 AM 

Mike Kroeger and Craig Lilja reluctantly get recognized for their part in a Heartland Honor Flight.

Locals help WWII veterans onto Honor Flight

Keith Jacobson

A local businessman and the postmaster were part of a group of volunteers assisting Heartland Honor Flight veterans bound for Washington, D.C., from Omaha recently.

Craig Lilja and postmaster Mike Kroeger were on hand well before 6 am Thursday at Eppley Airfield to assist 375 World War II veterans onto a Boeing 747 for the second to last flight.

Their work began earlier than that, however, at the Holiday Inn at South 72nd Street where the veterans were fed an early breakfast and transportation safety officials conducted security checks of the passengers. From there ten buses transported the veterans to Eppley.

While helping to load passengers, Mike said he was near the flight organizer, Bill Williams, who offered him a chance to make the flight because there was one open seat. He readily accepted. In all, 408 people including the flight crew made the journey.

After landing and unloading at Dulles International Airfield, waiting buses took the veterans to the World War II Memorial. Mike said the group spent a better part of two hours at the Memorial.

Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson, former Senator and World War II veteran Bob Dole and newsman Sam Donaldson visited with the veterans there also.

Other stops were at the Marine Barracks, the Iwo Jima Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. At Arlington the veterans boarded trams to travel around the site where two U.S. Presidents and 300,000 soldiers are remembered.

Buses also took the veterans past the Pentagon, the White House, the Capital and the Lincoln Memorial.

Mike said, “Bottled water and boxed meals were brought to the buses by volunteers at stops made.”

After the day’s events the flight arrived back at Eppley at 11:30 pm where the veterans were assisted off.

Craig Lilja said local involvement occurred when the call came in to Fire and Rescue Units for assistance with stair chairs. He then became part of a group of over 24 volunteers at the sites. He also stayed in Omaha and helped with the seventh and final flight on Friday.

Craig said, “Everything went well. It was a great experience. I never heard any complaints from either the veterans or the volunteers.”

As for Mike he drove back to Newman Grove to be ready for his postal duties. A postal worker from Tilden filled in for him while he was gone.

He said, “It was a tremendous experience. All of the credit should go to Bill and Evonne Williams of Omaha who organized the flights.”

The flights were funded by private donations. In all about 1,500 veterans participated.

As a closing thought from the Postmaster of Newman Grove, Mike Kroeger:

“These veterans were a generation of individuals that literally saved the world. These veterans don’t tend to be people who pat themselves on the back and bring attention to themselves… So we did that for them Thursday… A memorial for which they have waited 60 years for. This experience will live in my mind and the minds of these veterans for the rest of their lives. While at ‘their’ memorial these heros were admired, honored and thanked for what they did for our country and the world, and they were quick to thank those who also sacrificed back home…for the war effort, especially the women that went to work in the factories to keep supplies in their hands to defeat Hitler.”

Copyright ©2009 Newman Grove Reporter