Pair From Deer Park Take Part in Honor Flights
CINCINNATI, Ohio – Over the past two months, two members of our Deer Park family have taken trips to Washington D.C. along with Honor Flight Tri-State to be recognized for their own, or a family member's, service in the armed forces.
In September, Amity Elementary volunteer Chuck Osborne was selected to take the flight, which offers the opportunity for U.S. Veterans to visit their memorials in Washington. The trip was a long time coming for the Army Combat Engineer, who served in Vietnam in 1968-69.
“Well, three years ago they called, but I had just had back surgery,” Osborne said. “Then two years ago, I was picked again and I had just had my knee worked on, and last year I had just gotten my other knee done. When they called this year, I said, ‘I’m good to go and I’m going!’”
Osborne made the trip with his daughter, Trish, on an early-morning flight to the nation’s capital alongside more than 80 other Veterans and their families. They then took a police escort to the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War Memorials.
“When I was in the war, I lost 12 guys from my unit,” Osborne said. “I wanted to see them all on the wall, but it’s tough because we didn’t go by our names then. I went by ‘Sparky’ because I was a minesweeper."
Osborne was able to find one member of his unit, where he left a photo of himself in his uniform, along with a group photo of the whole unit.
“I knew where I wanted to go; I found him.” he said.
A month later, Amity food service worker Jody McKee took the same flight with her father, Donald Greer, a member of the U.S. Navy during the Korean War.
"Spending the day with my dad—he’s 87-years-old—was just an awesome experience that I will cherish forever,” McKee said. “They really take care of everything first class. The meals, the trips to the memorials, everything is really just great.”
Both McKee and Osborne said they were in awe of the treatment toward everyone during the trip.
“It was overwhelming,” McKee said. “When we landed back in Cincinnati, there was a line of people clapping, shaking our hands, and thanking everyone for their service. It was an amazing experience.”
With Veteran’s Day next Monday, Amity Elementary 2nd graders will continue a yearly tradition of honoring local veterans with a tribute including a variety of performances. The community is invited to join us on Monday for this program. You can learn more about the Veterans Day performance by clicking the link below.
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