Two Honor Flights From Fargo Land In Washington, D.C. To Honor Area Veterans

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Veterans from our area are getting the luxury treatment, with not one, but two Honor Flights to the nation’s capital.

It’s the first time two honor flights have taken off from Fargo at the same time.

Veterans from around the region departed from Hector International Airport on a trip to the nation’s capital honoring their service

For the veteran’s it is a chance to connect, and visit some of the monuments and memorials that pay respects to the sacrifices that soldiers like them made in their service.

“It’s been a long 55 years that we’ve waited for something like this to happen. And we’re seeing 200 vets here. It’s pulled everybody together, and what a great thing we’re seeing.”

Larry Kaiser was born and raised in Dora Lake, Minnesota. He served in the Army in Vietnam.

“It was a short time, only 19 months. 8 weeks of basic training, 8 weeks of advanced training, 30 day leave and 14 months in Vietnam, and I was out.”

He’s taking this trip as an opportunity to connect with other veterans, visiting historic sites in D.C.

“I sat down in the airport in Fargo, a guy sat next to me and we got to talking. I don’t know if it was divine intervention or what it was, but we were both exactly the same unit in Vietnam. How could that have happened? I have no idea, but it’s like finding a needle in the haystack.”

He said his decision to join the army was one that was easy to make.

“My dad was on the draft board, so I knew there would be no mercy. He’d been a World War II vet, there wasn’t going to be any mercy shown to me. So I just went ahead and joined. With a draft number of three, you’re going anyway.”

But for Larry this trip isn’t just about his service. It’s about the service of those who inspired him, his parents.

“They were both World War II vets. Both very proud of their service. They had met each other in the service, so that’s a World War II love story.”

The last time he was in Washington, the World War II memorial hadn’t been completed. But now he gets to see how the nation is honoring his parents’ service, as well as his own.

“The first time I was here, this wasn’t built, so now coming here, my mother and dad would be so proud of this.”

Join Alex Bertsch live from Washington, D.C tomorrow on KVRR’s Morning Show and catch his reports at 6 and 9 and online.