WWII MEMORIAL

The WWII Memorial Community

This is a site dedicated to the WWII Memorial and the veterans who preserved our way of life during WWII.  I'm Stephen R. Brown and the author of "WWII Memorial: Jewel of the Mall" . The book is available everywhere on the Washington Mall except the WWII Memorial.   I post images of Memorial events, WWII Veterans meeting with Senator Dole on Wednesday and Saturday evenings. THESE IMAGES ARE FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY unless you get a signed license from me.

South of the Memorial

Photos are available at

Ohio was the first group to arrive led by Susan Barr

These George Washington ladies were on hand to meet the Louisiana Flight and kept Senator Dole and a few vets amused for a bit.  As Senator Dole pointed to the young ladies, he said to the vets "Remember!!!".

Chris Cosich(above) and the Long Island group have been frequent flyers and were the last group in.

 

"So...Senator...who's going to win?"....is a popular question and one that never gets answered.

Ground crew readies for the big day!

Photos are available at

October 4th was a most successful day as 350 veterans plus 125 guardians visited the WWII Memorial through Honor Flight. Michigan, Alabama, Dayton, Ohio, Long Island, New York, Columbus and Louisiana all had a perfect Fall day to experience the Memorial.  Diane Sinclair and Lona, our two volunteer team leaders, are getting ready for this Wednesday when 800 veterans are going to hit the Plaza at one time.  It should be quite an event and I hope Senator Dole is ready to do some serious shaking.  I was practicing my panoramas today to get ready for the crowds.  

Kari Beardsley (left) worked with me today as a photographer and was able to scout the outer reaches of the Plaza while I stayed with Senator Dole. We are still looking for additonal photo volunteers.   Coast Guardsman James Burton joined us on the bagpipes as he sometimes does. I always love arriving to their sound at the Memorial and it does set a great tone for the day.

Going...going...gone

"Jewel of the Mall" is out of stock for quantity purchases until January/February 2009. I have kept a few hundred to fulfill signed orders for the holidays. The new edition will have a few new pictures, sewn seams for a better binding and better quality paper stock. 

Prints from the book are always available and the site will remain online so that you can still preview the Memorial in its finest light. I will continue documenting the Memorial and the Honor Flight operation and am looking forward to having a couple of photo volunteers join me this Saturday.

I got a nice note from Rebecca Seward from Colorado which I would like to share with all of you who have volunteered for Honor Flight. It sums up the reasons we all have for working with Honor Flight.  She said:

"As I am sure you have known for a long time doing anything with these. WWII veterans is an honor and priviledge.  My Dad served in the. Phillippines. He would have loved the. Memorial but it was not finished before he passed.  It is so special to be able to be a part of experiencing it with other veterans.  Many of the veterans on our honor flights of. Sept 23-24 have called and written to tell us how much they love your book and sharing it with their families and friends.  Thank you.  See you again in. April. -Becky. Seward." 

Speaking of Senator Burr

Thanks to Susan Barr for passing this on:

BURR APPLAUDS SENATE FOR PASSING BILL HONORING WWII VETERANS

Contact: Chris Walker (202) 224-3154 October 1, 2008 WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) today applauded his colleagues in the Senate for passing S.Res. 695, a resolution he cosponsored along with Senator Dole (R-NC) to commend the Honor Flight Network for its efforts to make it possible for World War II veterans to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. "America's World War II veterans served our country with honor and they deserve the opportunity to see the national memorial that has been erected in Washington in memory of their service," Burr said. "This resolution recognizes Honor Flight for providing that opportunity to veterans who may not have been able to travel to Washington to see the World War II Memorial otherwise. The memorial represents a token of our gratitude to our nation's servicemembers and serves as a constant reminder of the heroism and sacrifice of our World War II veterans." Honor Flight was created to honor America's veterans by flying them free of charge to Washington, DC, to visit the national memorials created in their honor. Honor Flight's first trip was in May 2005 and transported 12 World War II veterans on six small planes. In 2006, Honor Flight transitioned to commercial airline carriers to accommodate the increasing number of veterans interested in participating in the program. Since then, Honor Flight has partnered with HonorAir in Hendersonville, North Carolina and Hero Flight in Provo, Utah to form the Honor Flight Network which currently operates in communities in 31 states. Close to 15,000 veterans have visited the World War II Memorial thanks to the Honor Flight Network. The resolution also honors Jeff Miller of Hendersonville, North Carolina who helped organize and obtain funding to fly over three hundred World War II veterans to Washington to visit the Memorial. Mr. Miller was also instrumental in reaching out to other people across the country to enlist their help in this cause.

"The Dole Report"

Senator Dole has missed a very few Honor Flights and always makes up for his absences with "multi-tasking." Today (and this has happened before) a woman walked up to Senator Dole and asked him to take a phone call. It was classic Bob Dole. He got on the phone and chatted for a minute or two.   Later he was over "spinning wool" about woodwork with one of the veterans from Asheville who had a very interesting walking stick and then onto posing with Air Force trainees.  He then went on to confer with Senator Burr of North Carolina about the "Bailout".  I didn't hear a word.  

Senator Burr is taking up Senator Dole's place in the Senate as both a leading Republican and supporter of Veteran's Well-being.and rights..  We missed Marion and Seth and certainly could have used them as the guardians and veterans surrounding the "photo op" were so thick I thought I was working at the White House!  "Stevie...lets polish our lenses and sharpen our elbows" was the daily cheerful advice from my buddy Charlie Tasnadi who I worked with me at the White House.  

There were four flights in from Asheville, North Carolina, Dayton, Poplar Bluff, Mo and Volusia Honor Air of Florida for a total of 270 veterans plus guardians.

Join the Yellow Shirts as a volunteer photographer

Diane Sinclair (left top_ continues to bring on new volunteers to work both the tent area and the South Portico where some of our distinguished guests tend to hang out. Standing with her are Capt Lindsey Willhardt, Cindy Becker, Peg _______ , Jen Meyers while the front row is Jessica Moran and Lona Ichikawa.   In the yellow shirt is James Mikulec.  The ground crew is also spread out to the airports and we need to get some information on what everyone is doing and get some photos on those operations.

If anyone is looking to be a photo volunteer, I will be glad to train you in the basics of photographing Senators, Congressman, groups,  basic news coverage, the magic of flash fill and credit your work.  I will also teach you basic photo lingo like "lets polish our lenses and sharpen our elbow".  There are a wonderful variety of photographs like the one below to be had simply wandering the Memorial and I will post them on the photo site

Northwest Ohio

Dee Pakulski had a nice small flight of 28 veterans and fourteen guardians who had a fine little ceremony by the Ohio pillar before dispersing to hear Earl Morse's enthusiastic talk about the Memorials.  When he stops transporting veterans, he might want to join the Guild of Tour Guides!  There was a family sitting nearby who had decided to come on their own as Honor Flight couldn't accomodate them for a year and they decided it was time to get mom to the Memorial. I apologize for occasionally missing names but we had a nice chat and hopefully Mom will be attending next year with the Honor Flight group!

Colorado's big flight

Stan Cass and the Honor Flight Northern Colorado group started their first Honor Flights with a bang bringing in two hundred and tweleve veterans and 95 guardians.  The two planes got off the ground a bit late but they arrived at the BWI Hilton about 8:30 to hear to get a good meal and hear General Jim Campbell, former Commandant of the 10th Mountain Corps speak and then get off to bed for a big day. Our very own Ms. Manners Judy Lemmons flew out to Coloardo along with Clarisse and Earl Morse to give them a hand.  I'd say it was a tremendous success.

Congressman Jerry Moran, Kansas

Congressman Jerry Moran of Kansas sponsored a nice little piece of legislation yesterday: H.RES.1287 Title: Commending the Honor Flight Network, its volunteers, and donors, for enabling World War II veterans to travel to our Nation’s capital to see the World War II Memorial created in their honor.” It was co-sponsored by thirty other Congressman and passed unanimously. Congressman Moran’s father Ray and sister Leah were down at the Mall a week or two ago and while we were waiting for the Kansas flight to come in today, he said that the Honor Flight meeting was great for his family in that it brought everyone closer together and it’s common to see families united across the country through these visits.  Congressman Moran’s a fun guy to have at the Memorial and he’s become a regular with the Kansas flights and there are four more coming in from Kansas this Fall.  

Indiana Veterans

Congressman Steve Buyer who is on the joint House and Senate Veterans oversight committee met the Indiana group as he always does.  He's an interesting guy who makes sure that Veterans groups toe the line and get some of the money back to veterans. I've seen him tackle some of the "pirates" of veterans groups and put them in their place.