Amazing organization honors WWII veterans

Dee Pakulski, Pres. of Honor Flight of NWO, escorts veterans to the WWII memorial in D.C.

This week we're profiling an amazing organization run completely by volunteers that is in a race against time to honor northwest Ohio's World War II veterans.

Dee Pakulski is the president of Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio and takes pride in escorting veterans to the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. "There were over 30 people who walked up to him and shook his hand and said thanks for a job well done so many years ago," remembers Pakulski about the first veteran she took to D.C.

Pakulski's first flight was with the Honor Flight chapter in Michigan. She hoped to get Toledo area World War II veterans on more of those Michigan flights. "At the time, they had almost 400 guys on their waiting list so I knew that for anyone from this area it could be months or years, and these guys just don't have that," says Pakulski.

Approximately 1500 WWII veterans die each day. Pakulski knew that to get members of northwest Ohio's greatest generation to D.C. there needed to be a chapter here in Toledo. So she founded one. She says, "I'm proud to say that Honor Flight now has flown over 256 veterans there and back with 100% safety record."

Honor Flight charters a plane because it is easier on the veterans who are now all at least 80 years old. The effort is 100 percent volunteer and the flights are paid for completely through donations.

In some cases, time runs out before Pakulski can get enough money and volunteers to fund a flight. "Thursday night he went to bed and told his daughter only 21 more days and I get to go to the memorial, and Friday night I got a call from his daughter - Dee you can go ahead and give my dad's spot to someone else, he didn't wake up this morning. I was devastated. Instead of taking him to the memorial, all that was left to take to the memorial was the American flag that draped his casket."

Pakulski works 16 hour days to get these flights off the ground. "There's so much appreciation in these veterans when you take them, even though they didn't want the thanks once they get it they're just thrilled."

Honor Flight is planning a trip this month. Fifty World War II veterans will get to see the memorial erected as a symbol of thanks from a grateful nation, but Pakulski says, "We still have 530 on our list that still want to go." So Pakulski will keep working, which is why she and Honor Flight are this week's People, Places, and Things.

For more information, visit the Honor Flight of NWO website.

| Visit us on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter |

Get more Local »

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•