Any direction Roger Culler looked, the white gravestone markers at Arlington Cemetery were arranged in a perfectly straight line. The Changing of the Guard, an elaborate and precise ceremony, took his breath away.
?It?s amazing what they do at Arlington Cemetery,? the Colony man and Navy veteran recalled.
The visit to Arlington was just one part of a two-day visit in April to Washington, D.C., as part of Southern Coffey County High School?s Honor Flight. Culler was one of two local veterans who took part in the recent Honor Flight, which gives military veterans a chance to see national war memorials.
IOLAN Steve Kinzle was haunted by the Korean War Veterans Memorial: the 19 stainless steel statues surrounded by Juniper bushes and granite strips meant to symbolize the rice paddies of Korea; the black granite wall etched with images of service personnel meant to create the appearance of mountain ranges in Korea; the reflective Pool of Remembrance.
?It will bring tears to your eyes,? said Kinzle, who served with the Navy in Vietnam and later retired with the Kansas Army National Guard.
?The ghost-like figures walking through the fields, knowing how they had to put up with the weather, not having enough ammo, not enough food, not enough to stay warm. And knowing how soldiers today are treated so much better than they were. It was so touching.?
BRETT STOUT, who recently graduated high school from Southern Coffey County, knows the effect those memorials can have on veterans. This was his fifth and final trip with the Honor Flight as a student at SCCHS; he served as Kinzle?s ?guardian? for the spring trip.
Stout has seen veterans collapse from the overwhelming emotion when they stand in front of a war memorial. Sometimes, they have to be carried back to the bus.
?Every time I?ve taken someone, it?s something they don?t stop talking about. They?ll never forget it,? Stout said. ?And for the kids in high school, it really matures them.?
THE HONOR Flights at SCCHS began more than 15 years ago as a way to honor veterans and give them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to view war memorials. It?s especially important to honor Vietnam veterans who, unlike veterans from other eras, were not always given a proper welcome home when they returned from service, Stout said.
