Group of WWII veterans departs on Honor Tour

People who sign up and stand up filled the First Midwest Bank parking lot in Jackson on Thursday.

First among them were 30 World War II veterans being given a send-off on the second Honor Tour to Washington, D.C. They will spend today through Sunday seeing Washington memorials, with a special emphasis on the National World War II Memorial.

Other veterans who aren't going on the tour showed up just to see them off.

About 40 members of the Jackson High School band volunteered to play patriotic songs.

Replica, a trio who sings the kind of World War II-era songs the Andrews Sisters made famous, provided a performance in military dress.

Rob Callahan and Tucker Davis, who work for the bank in Poplar Bluff, Mo., have organized the free trips to show appreciation for a group of veterans whose numbers are dwindling. Few have seen the National World War II Memorial dedicated in 2004.

"This is a way to say thank you to them for all the freedoms we've enjoyed since we got out of bed this morning," Callahan said.

The bus arrived in Jackson with veterans aboard from Poplar Bluff, Dexter and Sikeston, Mo. At Dexter, the fire department positioned two ladders to form a "V" for victory for the veterans. Along the route to St. Louis to catch their flight they were escorted by either city police or Missouri State Highway Patrol cars.

"These guys don't know what to think," Callahan said.

Ken Detherage is on the Honor Tour. The 87-year-old Ste. Genevieve, Mo., man was in the first line of Marines that landed on Guadalcanal. Kelly Pruett, another member of the tour, served in the Army in the South Pacific. He ticks off the names of the Philippine Islands where he fought -- Leyte, Mindoro, Luzon -- like towns he's lived in. He lives in Perryville now and, at 85, is making his first trip east of Chicago.

Dean Allison, 80, of Cape Gir-ardeau is a retired teacher and school administrator. He was part of the occupation force in Europe after the war, spending most of his time in Berlin. "I was fortunate," Allison said.

He described seeing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as "a state of awe" and wonders how he'll react to seeing the National World War II Memorial. "It will be a surprise."

Eighty-year-old Terry Ferguson lives in Poplar Bluff now but long ago worked as a Linotype operator at the Southeast Missourian. He joined the Army Air Corps with one of his buddies, Gene Heise. Another close friend, John Cole, joined the Navy. Ferguson and Heise made it through the war OK. Ferguson taught B-25 flight engineering and was just about to be sent overseas when Germany surrendered.

Cole was killed when a kamikaze pilot crashed into his ship in Okinawa. "I was a pallbearer at his funeral," Ferguson said, his voice catching.

Sikeston's Charles Chaney is being accompanied on the tour by his wife of 65 years, Ruth. She has to pay her way, but says it's worth it. "We've always gone everywhere together," she said. They married on July 4, 1942, five months before he went into the service. She stayed with him during training until he was sent to the European theater.

Most everybody at the parking lot in Jackson had some connection to the war. Jean Wade's daughter, Kelly Baker, is a member of Replica. Wade's brother, Lewis Graham, was killed in France on July 5, 1944. She was 13 years old and living in Blodgett, Mo., at the time.

"He gave me a silver dollar when he left and told me to keep it until he got back," she said. "I've still got it."

LeRoy Westrich and his wife Joyce came just to see the vets off. He was in the Navy during World War II and Korean War.

Jackson Mayor Barbara Lohr came just to be there.

Dale Humphries is a family therapist who volunteered to go on the Honor Tour to help take care of the veterans, most of whom are in their 80s. Some are in wheelchairs, and wheelchairs will be available and recommended for others during the tour.

Seeing the veterans slowly stepping out of the bus at the bank parking lot was emotional for her. Her father, Harold Kretchmar, was a veteran who died in 1999, before the National World War II Memorial was erected. He was a member of Merrill's Marauders, an elite group of Army Ranger volunteers who fought in the deadly Burma campaign against the Japanese.

Humphries' husband, Bill, a Vietnam War veteran, was there to see her off. One of their sons is a Navy veteran, and the other is in Navy boot camp right now. "Our family is military," she said.

The first local Honor Tour went to Washington in June. A color guard, band and crowd of people sent the veterans off from the same parking lot at 5 a.m. A third trip already has been planned for April. And a waiting list is forming for a fourth trip.

Callahan said this trip has been just as emotional as the first one. "It's a whole different group of guys, but that doesn't make the emotions any less."

Southwest Airlines donated the 30 round-trip flights for the veterans, and the bus ride to and from the St. Louis airport was donated as well. This trip is paid for through donations, but Callahan and Tucker are trying to raise $13,000 to pay for the hotel rooms, food and the motor coach tour for future trips.

Donations can be made to the Stoddard County Development Foundation, P.O. Box 625, Bloomfield, Mo., 63825. Write "Honor Tour" on the memo line of the check.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137