Local brother-sister duo take Honor Flight together
Pictured above, the Hermann family traveled together to the war memorials of Washington, D.C., to honor their service. From left to right, David Hermann, his sister and fellow veteran Dianne Hermann and his son, Davey Hermann, who served as David’s guardian for the day.
July 10, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Korean War Veteran Howard William Osterkamp once said, “Some gave all, all gave some.” These words have been memorialized on the hearts and minds of Americans for decades to represent the astounding sacrifice made by American soldiers over the years.
In order to honor the heroic men and women of years past, Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant and retired Air Force captain from Springfield, Ohio, began the Honor Flight program in 2005. The program takes veterans on a chartered flight to visit the war memorials in Washington D.C.
On May 15, Cassville resident and Habitat for Humanity president David Hermann, as well as his sister, Dianne Hermann, of Joplin, were given the honor of boarding one of these flights. The Hermanns are one of few sibling duos who have had the honor of taking the flight together. In addition, 20 other members of the local chapter of the Veterans Taskforce of America were given the honor of boarding the same flight.
David and Dianne both served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. David retired as a platoon sergeant and Dianne retired as a specialist IV in air traffic control. The siblings come from a long line of military service with their great-great-grandfather having fought in the Civil War and their father having fought in the Korean War.
For the Hermanns, the flight was an invaluable opportunity to see the monuments erected to honor their service.
“It was incredible,” said Dianne. “I used to live in northern Virginia and work in Washington DC, so I’ve either been to most of the monuments or seen them getting built. When I went on the honor flight, I went as a different person. I got to see them through different eyes. Going as a veteran and being honored was a lot different than when I lived there.”
“It really was an honor, not only to go with my veteran friends, but an honor to be counted worthy to be on this flight,” said David. “Everyone that went on that flight came back glad. There’s not a single person that came back wishing they hadn’t gone.”
David explained that on the Honor Flight, veterans received the red carpet treatment. The flight was chartered and paid for by the organization, as were the buses that were used to escort the veterans around the city. The buses each had their own doctor and nurse on standby in case of emergency. In addition, he said that both TSA and D.C. Police made extra accommodations for the trip.
“We were escorted right onto the plane. We were served like a special group,” explained David. “It was an honor to be on that flight. When we landed, we had a police escort all over town. Police would go through and physically stop traffic so that we could get through. Every place that we stopped, people were shaking our hands.”
According to David and Dianne, while at the memorials several groups were waiting for them to thank them for their service.
“We were on five buses,” said David. “Everything was already prearranged. We went to all the monuments. We started out at the World War II monument, the Korean War, the Iwo Jima monument, all of them.”
“They had bagpipists there at the World War II monument and they had a ceremony for us,” said Dianne. “Everywhere we went, people wanted to know who we were and what we were doing. Everywhere we went, there were people there who would stop and talk to us and thank us for our service. They were just so supportive and appreciative. That was a big thing for us.”
Several of the groups who awaited were students on class field trips.
“I overheard one of the teachers there say that they came there on that day intentionally when they knew the honor flight would be there because they made thank you cards for veterans,” explained Dianne.
The trip served as an opportunity for the Hermann family to pay respect to their father, a Korean war veteran, as well.
“We got to take a picture holding our dad’s dog tags in front of the Korean War monument,” said David.
Veterans on the trip were all accompanied by an escort, known as guardian. The escort served as that veteran’s right hand for the day. For David, this was an opportunity to bond with his son over the memories of his service in Vietnam.
“The idea is that your guardian is no more than five steps away from you. If you need something, your guardian is there for you,” explained David. “If you need to go somewhere, that guardian gets you there. There were a lot of veterans that were matched up with people they didn’t know. It was an honor to have my son there with me as mine.”
The tour around D.C. concluded with a trip to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to witness the changing of the guard.
“I think the most impactful part of the flight was the last stop, which was as the International Cemetery. We got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” said Dianne. “They have a changing of the guard every half hour and people just line up to see it. That was very impactful and very emotional to see. It made me really proud to be an American. It made me really glad to know that people appreciate the sacrifices that those in the military have made.”
The red carpet treatment didn’t end with the tour. Once back in the Springfield Airport, the veterans were met with a celebration in their honor.
“When we got back to Springfield, they had a welcoming committee, welcoming us back home,” explained Dianne. “Someone told me that there were about 3,000 people there. There was a band, there were current military people there in uniform; there were spouses and family members. It was incredible to have that kind of day in Washington and feel so honored and then come back to Springfield to a homecoming. It was emotional.
“A lot of us were Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans. Those are the people who never got a welcome home. This is that welcome home for some of us.”
The Hermanns were honored to share the experience and offered some words of encouragement for veterans considering taking the flight themselves.
“I would encourage any veteran that needs closure to sign up and go,” said David. “This was all about going back, and not necessarily remembering, but getting closure. It’s going there to say, ‘I did that. These are the friends that I lost, and now, I can walk away’,” said David.
“I’d like to encourage veterans to put in their applications for the Honor Flight, because you will understand just how Americans feel about what they did,” said Dianne.
David concluded by thanking VTA president Ken Johnson, of Springfield, without whom he says the event may have never happened for their chapter.
For more information on the Honor Flight program and how to get involved, contact the Honor Flight Network at (937) 521-2400.
Vinnie Roberts
Korean War Veteran Howard William Osterkamp once said, “Some gave all, all gave some.” These words have been memorialized on the hearts and minds of Americans for decades to represent the astounding sacrifice made by American soldiers over the years.
In order to honor the heroic men and women of years past, Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant and retired Air Force captain from Springfield, Ohio, began the Honor Flight program in 2005. The program takes veterans on a chartered flight to visit the war memorials in Washington D.C.
On May 15, Cassville resident and Habitat for Humanity president David Hermann, as well as his sister, Dianne Hermann, of Joplin, were given the honor of boarding one of these flights. The Hermanns are one of few sibling duos who have had the honor of taking the flight together. In addition, 20 other members of the local chapter of the Veterans Taskforce of America were given the honor of boarding the same flight.
David and Dianne both served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War. David retired as a platoon sergeant and Dianne retired as a specialist IV in air traffic control. The siblings come from a long line of military service with their great-great-grandfather having fought in the Civil War and their father having fought in the Korean War.
For the Hermanns, the flight was an invaluable opportunity to see the monuments erected to honor their service.
“It was incredible,” said Dianne. “I used to live in northern Virginia and work in Washington DC, so I’ve either been to most of the monuments or seen them getting built. When I went on the honor flight, I went as a different person. I got to see them through different eyes. Going as a veteran and being honored was a lot different than when I lived there.”
“It really was an honor, not only to go with my veteran friends, but an honor to be counted worthy to be on this flight,” said David. “Everyone that went on that flight came back glad. There’s not a single person that came back wishing they hadn’t gone.”
David explained that on the Honor Flight, veterans received the red carpet treatment. The flight was chartered and paid for by the organization, as were the buses that were used to escort the veterans around the city. The buses each had their own doctor and nurse on standby in case of emergency. In addition, he said that both TSA and D.C. Police made extra accommodations for the trip.
“We were escorted right onto the plane. We were served like a special group,” explained David. “It was an honor to be on that flight. When we landed, we had a police escort all over town. Police would go through and physically stop traffic so that we could get through. Every place that we stopped, people were shaking our hands.”
According to David and Dianne, while at the memorials several groups were waiting for them to thank them for their service.
“We were on five buses,” said David. “Everything was already prearranged. We went to all the monuments. We started out at the World War II monument, the Korean War, the Iwo Jima monument, all of them.”
“They had bagpipists there at the World War II monument and they had a ceremony for us,” said Dianne. “Everywhere we went, people wanted to know who we were and what we were doing. Everywhere we went, there were people there who would stop and talk to us and thank us for our service. They were just so supportive and appreciative. That was a big thing for us.”
Several of the groups who awaited were students on class field trips.
“I overheard one of the teachers there say that they came there on that day intentionally when they knew the honor flight would be there because they made thank you cards for veterans,” explained Dianne.
The trip served as an opportunity for the Hermann family to pay respect to their father, a Korean war veteran, as well.
“We got to take a picture holding our dad’s dog tags in front of the Korean War monument,” said David.
Veterans on the trip were all accompanied by an escort, known as guardian. The escort served as that veteran’s right hand for the day. For David, this was an opportunity to bond with his son over the memories of his service in Vietnam.
“The idea is that your guardian is no more than five steps away from you. If you need something, your guardian is there for you,” explained David. “If you need to go somewhere, that guardian gets you there. There were a lot of veterans that were matched up with people they didn’t know. It was an honor to have my son there with me as mine.”
The tour around D.C. concluded with a trip to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to witness the changing of the guard.
“I think the most impactful part of the flight was the last stop, which was as the International Cemetery. We got to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” said Dianne. “They have a changing of the guard every half hour and people just line up to see it. That was very impactful and very emotional to see. It made me really proud to be an American. It made me really glad to know that people appreciate the sacrifices that those in the military have made.”
The red carpet treatment didn’t end with the tour. Once back in the Springfield Airport, the veterans were met with a celebration in their honor.
“When we got back to Springfield, they had a welcoming committee, welcoming us back home,” explained Dianne. “Someone told me that there were about 3,000 people there. There was a band, there were current military people there in uniform; there were spouses and family members. It was incredible to have that kind of day in Washington and feel so honored and then come back to Springfield to a homecoming. It was emotional.
“A lot of us were Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans. Those are the people who never got a welcome home. This is that welcome home for some of us.”
The Hermanns were honored to share the experience and offered some words of encouragement for veterans considering taking the flight themselves.
“I would encourage any veteran that needs closure to sign up and go,” said David. “This was all about going back, and not necessarily remembering, but getting closure. It’s going there to say, ‘I did that. These are the friends that I lost, and now, I can walk away’,” said David.
“I’d like to encourage veterans to put in their applications for the Honor Flight, because you will understand just how Americans feel about what they did,” said Dianne.
David concluded by thanking VTA president Ken Johnson, of Springfield, without whom he says the event may have never happened for their chapter.
For more information on the Honor Flight program and how to get involved, contact the Honor Flight Network at (937) 521-2400.
