Robert Mitchell plays the bagpipes near the Pacific Theater Pavilion entrance at the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2014. He was waiting for the honor flight from Texas to arrive so he could play as they walked into their memorial. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Robert Mitchell plays the bagpipes near the Pacific Theater Pavilion entrance at the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2014. He was waiting for the honor flight from Texas to arrive so he could play as they walked into their memorial. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
The first half of the Texas Honor Flight prepare to enter the World War II Memorial on October 1, 2014. For most of the veterans on the trip, this was their first time seeing the memorial. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Robert and Don Jones pause for a moment inside the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Bill Thatcher, a U.S. Army WWII veteran, gets ready to enter the World War II Memorial on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Participants of the Texas Honor Flight gather around the Pacific Theater Pavilion for a wreath laying ceremony on Oct. 1, 2014 (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Participants in the Texas honor flight watch a wreath laying ceremony at the Pacific Theater Pavilion on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Participants of the Texas honor flight watch the wreath laying ceremony at the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
The honor flight from Lubbock, Texas, moves to the Atlantic Theater Pavilion for the second wreath laying ceremony on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Participants of the Texas honor flight salute at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Robert Martin, a WWII veteran who fought under Gen. Douglas McArthur and was deployed to New Guinea, Philippines and Japan, visits the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Honor flight participants inside the World War II Memorial on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
A member of an honor flight looks around the World War II Memorial on Oct. 1, 2014, in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
Two members of the Texas honor flight walk into the World War II Memorial on Oct. 1, 2014, in Washington, D.C. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
The Atlantic Theater Pavilion at the World War II Memorial on Oct. 1, 2014. (Meredith Tibbetts/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — The nonprofit Honor Flight Network brings veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials of their wars. It’s a free trip to thank aging vets for their service.
Every flight comes steeped in stories of war, bravery and sacrifice.
On Oct. 1, 2014, a flight from Lubbock, Texas, arrived here for three days. Two pairs of participants with the Texas South Plains Honor Flight paused for a moment at the World War II Memorial to share some of the recollections from the wars they fought.
Robert and Don Jones
These two brothers were deployed during World War II and faced not only combat zones but possible discrimination as well.
Don Jones served in the United States Navy on a submarine, but said that once, while he was on a surface craft, he had three officers who were in command. He described two being “not very human.” The insults were racially based.
The third officer made how he felt about Jones clear on the first day.
“I went on a Sunday evening, and by 10 o'clock Monday, he said anything that could be considered derogatory to a human. Then he stepped up to me, and it seemed like an eternity to me, but it couldn't have been more than 2, 3 minutes,” Don Jones said. The officer asked several times if Jones was a man —- not as in a male, but as a man. Jones replied yes, and the officer said, “‘Don't you ever let anybody say the things that I said to you and you don't hit them. … If you don't do it, and I hear about it, I'm going to be looking for you."
Robert Jones enlisted in the Army, and said he has told people he was only afraid once during his deployment.
“They said, ‘Well that's kind of hard to believe.’ I said, ‘I got scared the night before I went in and I stayed scared,” he said.
Though the brothers have been to Washington, this was their first time at the World War II Memorial.
The Joneses had two other brothers and a brother-in-law who served during World War II. All five came back alive, but only Robert, 91, and Don, 89, were still alive to visit to their memorial this year.
“My son graduated from the Naval Academy in 1973. He has three sons, and the middle son graduated in 2011. It stayed in the family,” Don Jones said. “I think about how blessed the Jones family has been.”
Bill and Stacy Whorton
Separated by two generations and different war zones — a grandson inspired to enlist by his grandfather — they made the trip together on an honor flight from Lubbock, Texas, to visit the memorials.
Bill Whorton, 81, served during the Korean War and Stacy Whorton served in Iraq. They are each other’s hero.
“I got to Korea and I thought what in the world was I doing here? It was a very different country. We were the first troops in, and it was a very interesting place to be for a guy who had never been out of West Texas before. My grandson here was in Iraq, and he is the hero of the family,” Bill Whorton said.
Stacy Whorton, who works for the fire department in Lubbock, said he joined the service because of his grandfather.
“He called me and said, ‘I think I'm going to join the army.’ I told him not to sign anything until I get there. We talked it over and decided that the Marines would be the right move for him. It was very beneficial for him and I was very proud of him,” Bill Whorton said.
“He’s my hero. I love this guy,” his grandson said.
