The Milwaukee Post

of Columbus were on hand. So were rela- tives and friends of the vets, who applaud- ed them inside the terminal. "There had to be a thousand people there," Johnson marveled. Among the crowd was Barbara Wesley, whose Milwaukee-born husband, World War II United States Army Air Forces vet- eran Harold, was on the flight. "It was a very impressive ceremony," she said. "I don't think there were many dry eyes." As for her spouse, who will turn 90 next month, Harold had "a pretty big smile on his face." Sitting in his West Allis living room Monday, Wesley, who ended his 2 1/2-year military stint with the rank of staff ser- geant, sounded as enthusiastic as Johnson had during a telephone conversation earli- er that day. "It was wonderful," Wesley said of the Honor Flight. "We had beautiful weather, which was the bonus. The monuments (in Washington, memorializing various American military conflicts) are nice to see." Particularly impressive to the Air Force vet was "the organization, the logis- tics, of being able to transport that many people. All these volunteers seeing that our comfort was taken care of. I was very impressed with the people. They were very friendly. I was very happy that I went." Johnson noted that Honor Flights occur throughout the United States. The Milwaukee-Washington flights are free for WWII and Korean War veterans, as well as for terminally ill vets of other conflicts. Each vet is required to bring a companion who is charged for his or her own flight. Susan Johnson accompanied her father Saturday, while Robert Wesley flew along- side his dad. The vets were given commemorative jackets, along with breakfast and box lunches. A police escort was provided as the traveling party bused to the war mon- uments and Arlington National Cemetery, where they took in the changing of the guard ritual. Johnson and Wesley recalled military service in conversations. "I was below deck – engine room and machine shop," said Johnson, whose even- tual rank was fireman first class. The sea- man was involved in a secret operation – the brainchild of Admiral Richard Byrd – geared at establishing the "Little America" Antarctic base. "We went down there for mapping and charting," Johnson summarized. Johnson served aboard a 643-foot-long vessel tendering helicopters and PBYs (amphibious aircraft) to Antarctica in 1946. Around Cape Horn, in the Atlantic, rough seas prevailed: 65-foot swells result- ed in "almost a foot of water in the sleep- ing compartment" – and the loss of a PBY and copter. "If we'd have rolled one more degree, we would've gone completely under," Johnson said. Luckily, the incident left just one individual injured, and not criti- cally. Wesley was a gunner in a 10-man crew shot down on a bombing mission to Vienna in 1945. "Fortunately, there was about 3 feet of snow on the ground," he recalled. The pilot was able to land in Russian-occupied rural Hungary "and nobody got a scratch" – which was also true of Wesley through 17 additional bombing missions. In civilian life, Wesley, who has six chil- dren, ultimately worked in inventory con- trol. Johnson, a widower and father of four (including a son killed in Vietnam), was a service manager for Cadillac dealer- ships in Milwaukee and Las Vegas. Johnson was assigned to the Navy Reserve after his active duty hitch. "I'm still in the Reserves, as far as I know," he told the Post, explaining that one suppos- edly continues such an affiliation until he requests severance. 12 • Milwaukee County Post • May 9, 2014 Honor Flight: Milwaukee travelers moved by trip, homecoming continued from Page 1 Photos by Don Weltzien/Special to The Post Top: Members of various branches of the armed forces line up to salute the returning Honor Flight veterans from Washington D.C. on Saturday. Bottom: World War II veteran Richard Wenzel teas- es the children in the crowd as he returns from the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Saturday at Mitchell Field. $1 Admission benefits the Alzheimer's Association. 238212033

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