Page 16 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2015

ATTENTION World War II Members! Sign up NOW for an HONOR FLIGHT!
Honor Flight Network (HFN) is a non-pro t organiza on created solely to honor Ameri- ca’s veterans for all their sacri ces. HFN ies veter- ans to Washington DC to visit the memorials that were built to honor their service to the na on.
The trip is at no cost to the veterans. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – World War II survi- vors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill.
Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a na on—and as a culturally diverse, free society. According to the Department of Veterans A airs, an es mated 640 WWII veterans die each day. Our me to express our thanks to these brave men and women is quickly running out.
Honor ight was founded by Earl Morse a physi- cian’s assistant at a VA hospital in Spring eld Ohio. The inaugural Honor Flight took place in May of 2005. Six small planes ew out of Spring eld, Ohio taking twelve World War II veterans on a visit to the WWII Memorial in Washington, DC. As word got around and the wai ng list of veterans wan ng to take the trip grew, Honor Flight Network was formed. In 2005, HFN transported 137 World War II veterans to their memorial. Currently there are 133 hubs na onwide serving 42 states. Collec vely HFN has transported more than 138,817 veterans to see their memorials.
In the future, Honor Flight Network will also pay tribute to America’s other heroes who served dur- ing the Korean and Vietnam Wars, followed by vet- erans of more current wars. They, too, have given so much and Honor Flight feels that it’s me to show them that their e orts are not forgo en. More informa on regarding Honor Flight Network can be found on their website at: www.honor ight.org. The website includes loca- on and contact informa on for all the individual hubs. It is important that we reach out to all our veterans and encourage them to contact the hub closest to them and submit an applica on so that they will have an opportunity to par cipate on a ight. Each hub raises its own funds from private dona ons, founda ons, business owners and cor- Page 16
By Donna Hester
pora ons wan ng to thank our veterans for their service to the United States. Because of the veter- ans’ advanced ages, guardians pay their own way and accompany the veterans for the weekend trip, helping navigate security and baggage, pushing wheelchairs, and providing a hand where needed.
Two San Diego DFC Society members, Herb Leo- pold and Sid Zimman, have par cipated in the Hon- or Flight San Diego Tour of Honor to DC.
Herb Leopold par cipated in an Honor Flight two years ago. Herb was awarded the Dis nguished Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while par cipa ng in aerial ight as a bombardier, 466th Bombardment Group, European Theater of Opera- on on Feb 22, 1945. On that date, his plane was separated from their squadron and ying on their own, the crew chose an alternate bomb site. Herb demonstrated excellent bombing capabili es which resulted in 65 percent of the bombs landing within a 500 foot circle and 100 percent landing in the tar- get zone. The professional competence, aerial skill, and devo on to duty displayed by Lieutenant Leo- pold re ect great credit upon himself and the US Air Force. Herb was a strong supporter of, and vol- unteer for, the Society, including being an early President of the San Diego Lindbergh Chapter.
Sid Zimman recently took a Tour of Honor with the San Diego hub. Sid joined the Marine Corps in 1942 when he was just eighteen years old. He be- came a rear gunner on the SBD Dauntless dive- bomber. Sergeant Zimman was sta oned in the Paci c and his missions were primarily to dive and destroy targets speci cally involving gun emplace- ments. Sid has always been proud of his war me experiences and the knowledge that he helped save the lives of fellow Marines. However, it was not un l June 6, 1998 that he found out he had been awarded two Dis nguished Flying Cross med- als for his missions with Marine Scout Bomber Squadron 341. He joined the DFC Society in 2006 and frequently wears his dress blue uniform in pa- rades such as the Veterans Day Parade, the 4th of July Parade and various military and veteran func- ons. Sid always a racts a lot of a en on in his dress blues.