Ellis King had a mission. Yes, he was excited to fly to Washington, D.C., and see monuments and memorials, but there was one specific task to accomplish: find Dan Bullock’s name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
King, a U.S. Army veteran, met Bullock during basic training in late 1968. Both were sent to Vietnam to help fight communism. King, of Evansville, made it back home, while Private First Class Bullock, a Marine from Brooklyn, New York, did not. Unbeknownst to military officials and his fellow servicemen, Bullock had backdated his birth year when applying to join the military and was just 15 years old when he was killed in action on June 7, 1969.
“It hurts to know that you got to come back home, and he didn’t,” King said, his voice choking as he showed me a photo of Bullock in his military uniform. So, King wanted to make sure he honored his friend. Helped by his son, Wes — plus a family of four that, each Saturday, totes ladders to the wall so visitors can reach the names they’re looking for — King now has a pencil rubbing of Bullock’s name to keep close.
From flight directors and medical teams to fundraisers, donors, and volunteers, Honor Flight of Southern Indiana organizers rally twice a year to show U.S. military veterans around Washington, D.C. The entire day is devoted to recognizing and thanking them for serving their country and preserving its democracy.
HFSI’s 20th mission took off for the nation’s capital at dawn on May 2, with me — Evansville Living’s Managing Editor — occupying one of nearly 200 seats on the packed chartered American Airlines flight. One of nearly 140 Honor Flight hubs in the U.S., Southern Indiana’s chapter is extremely busy: More than 1,000 veterans are on HFSI’s waiting list. HFSI can only solicit veterans from inside its 14-county area, but it accepts veterans outside the region, such as Navy veteran Steven Hill, who traveled from Volusia, Florida, to Evansville for Honor Flight EVV20.
Veterans were feted every step of the way, starting with handshakes and a heartfelt send-off at Evansville Regional Airport from members of the veterans advocacy group Rolling Thunder and Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson. Touching down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, we received our second water cannon salute of the day and disembarked to the sound of patriotic music, a gate decorated in military flags, and cheering throngs of Honor Flight volunteers and fellow travelers. The emerging veterans didn’t know about the welcome committee, and many grinned and waved in awe. Jean Tuggle — a 27-year Army and Army Reserves retiree and the lone woman veteran on this flight — was greeted by a smiling Capt. Mary Quigley, a retired Navy veteran and Honor Flight volunteer. They shared appreciation for each having served in the male-dominated military. “When I went into the service, there were men who told me, ‘We don’t want to serve next to a woman,’” Quigley recalled. “I said, ‘Well, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere, so get used to it!’”
From the Air Force Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery to memorials for American casualties in Vietnam, Korea, and World War II, passersby went out of their way to say hello to our group and thank our veterans for their service. A Vietnamese man approached Army vet Ira McGuire and thanked him for helping liberate his home country. McGuire, a Henderson, Kentucky, resident, was stunned. “I wasn’t sure which direction he was going when he walked up to me,” he said. As McGuire and I, along with his guardian and grandson Ricky Dukes Jr., walked toward the Lincoln Memorial, a groundskeeper named John emerged from his vehicle, made his way over to McGuire, and shook his hand.
Each veteran must have an able-bodied guardian (usually a family member or friend) accompany them on the trip; those without someone to fill the role are assigned a volunteer guardian. That’s how Knox County Army veteran Jim Luking met Honor Flight donor and volunteer Keith Davis. The two were introduced at April 30’s meet-and-greet and became fast friends. Davis helped Luking pencil rub the names of fellow Vietnam War veterans to take home to their families in Knox County. “I wouldn’t be able to do any of this today without my new friend,” Luking said of Davis.
As they visited more memorials, pairs of vets and guardians sat and gazed at the monuments, quietly discussing memories — some not related to war — as they came rushing back. A pair of sharply dressed swing dancers (more Honor Flight volunteers) held John James Jr.’s rapt attention as they did the jitterbug at our gate at Reagan. The Air Force veteran moved to Evansville three months ago to be closer to his daughters. He and his wife had loved to dance, and he teared up talking about dancing with his daughter at her wedding.
On the flight home, veterans looked through a fraction of the 5,000 letters and cards they received for this mission. It was an apt precursor to the welcome home parade at Evansville Regional Airport — an HFSI staple — which drew more than 1,000 relatives, friends, and members of the public cheering the returning veterans. Most on this flight served during the Vietnam War, a controversial conflict that often resulted in jeers when they came home from Southeast Asia. HFSI’s parade is meant to be the hero’s welcome they did not receive then.
Veteran Bob Hulsey was familiar with the drill: The Evansville resident served as the guardian for retired Army Air Corps Sgt. Irving Levine during HFSI’s first mission in 2014. Twelve years later, it was Hulsey’s turn to travel. Lining up for the parade, Hulsey had a surprise for his family: His teenage parade escort — a youth Bob became close to through his work as a Vanderburgh County CASA volunteer — donned Hulsey’s old Army shirt. “It’s such a special thing,” Hulsey said of Honor Flight. “I hope it never goes away.”
