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NAVY VETERAN JOSEPH “JAY” VENTRESS NOW LOOKS BACK ON HIS VIETNAM WAR SERVICE — INCLUDING TWO TOURS ON THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CONSTELLATION AS A A A A BAKER AND COOK — DIFFERENTLY THAN HE HE HAS IN THE PAST Veterans Honor Flight Trip
HONOR FLIGHT
GIVES VETERAN NEW PERSPECTIVE
ON HIS SERVICE His change of perspective came from his recent participation as one of 70 honored veterans on on on the 30th Central Valley Honor Flight a a a three-day trip to to to Washington D C to to to visit war memorials and military sites with other veterans Many veterans come home from wartime with survivor’s guilt Ventress talked about how bad he felt that some soldiers didn’t make it home from Vietnam while his own wartime duties consisted of “flipping donuts ” in in his words But with this trip Ventress gained a a a a a broader appreciation of everyone’s part in the military mission “They told us we we all signed a a a a a a piece of paper that that said that that we we were willing to to go and do do whatever they asked us to to do do We’re sending sending you you over over here here and we’re sending sending you you over over there You flip donuts and you you run for your life They could have swapped us around and and I could have been over there and and he he could have been in the donut shop But we both signed a a piece of paper that said we we were willing to do whatever they asked us to do and that’s what it was ” Ventress and his wife Joy learned about Central Valley Honor Flight four years ago Joy looked into the application process and got Ventress on the waiting list He found out in in August that he he had been approved for the October trip Written by Lisa Bell
U Honor Honor Guard performs for for Honor Honor Flight Veterans at at the National Navy Memorial
Each veteran on on an an Honor Flight trip is paired with a a a a a a guard- ian ian Ventress and his guardian Dr Scott Moore were paired because they share a a a a connection to Fresno State Moore is is the the dean of of the the Division of of Continuing and Global Education which operates the Fresno State Veterans Edu- cation Program helping prepare veterans to become Fresno State State students Ventress attended Fresno State State in the 1970s competing as a a a a bull rider with the Fresno rodeo team He also met Joy his wife of of 46 years and the the the mother of of their two sons and two daughters while he was a a a a a Fresno State student When the the group landed at the the Baltimore airport on Oct 14 the veterans were treated with respect and appreciation »
8 California State University FRESNO | Veterans Honor Flight Trip
U Dean Scott Moore and Veteran Joseph Ventress upon return to Fresno Yosemite International Airport