Page 5 - Dresden Buzz 04/04/25

APRIL 4 - 17, 2025 LOCAL NEWS | PAGE 5
Local veterans selected to be part of the first Honor Flight

Columbus trip of 2025 by Lynette Dotson

Donald Beers and John Furek were And then when we went through, the
among 67 veterans who were part of other people behind us got a moment. It
the 139th Mission to depart from John was done deliberately. It didn’t dawn on
Glenn Columbus International Airport me until afterwards what they did. The
and fly to Washington D.C. to take part whole thing was just so well organized,
in Honor Flight Columbus. and it made you feel great.”
The mission statement for Honor A trained volunteer guardian is as-
Flight Columbus reads, “To honor Ameri- signed to each veteran to help with any
ca’s senior veterans with a trip to Wash- needs the veteran may have and assist
ington D.C. to visit the nation’s memo- them along the trip. “They treated us like
rials. To help them share their stories. royalty,” stated Furek.
To celebrate and affirm their service While in Washington D.C., they visited
and homecoming.” Since the inaugu- war memorials and sites around the Na-
ral flight, which took place in May of tional Mall, including Arlington National
2005, Honor Flight Columbus has given Cemetery, World War II Memorial, Kore-
10,240 senior veterans this once-in-a- an War Veterans Memorial, and the Viet-
lifetime experience. nam Veterans Memorial, among others.
“When we were at the Korean War Me-
morial, there were two veterans who had
served in Korea, and the Korean Ambas-
sadors came up and gave them medals
and made them official ambassadors to
Korea, and they did not expect it, none
of us expected that. But somebody had
planned it, we just did not know. And
that was kind of cool,” explained Furek.

John Furek (left) and Donald Beers (right) stand with the Honor Flight welcome banner.
Submitted
was a small picture sitting on the ground scheduled for Thursday, April 17. There
below it. So someone knew something are ten flights on the schedule for 2025.
about her and had been there that day.” Visit honorflightcmh.org for more infor-
Honor Flight Columbus Mission 140 is mation.

Honor Flight Columbus welcomes ap-
plications for consideration from senior John Furek served from 1968-1974 in the Na-
veterans who are 65 and older and have vy’s nuclear power submarine force. It was
served on full-time active duty or over 20 during the Vietnam conflict, but he was off of
years in the Guard/Reserves. Beers and the East Coast. He spent time in the Atlantic
Furek applied last spring for the oppor- the North Sea, and the Mediterranean.
tunity to go. They are both members of Submitted
the Dresden VFW and have deep roots in
Dresden, so it only made sense that they A friend of the Beers family, 1st Lt.
apply to go together. “You apply and they Sharon A. Lane, a U.S. Army nurse (67th
ask if you have a buddy that’s going to Medical Group, 44th Medical Brigade),
go with you, and I found a buddy,” said was killed on June 8, 1969, while at-
Furek. He and Beers both served during tempting to move Vietnamese patients
the Vietnam War, as were 45 others who to safety during an attack on the 312th
joined them on the flight. Additionally, Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai, South
there were eight who served in the Ko- Vietnam. She was the only U.S. nurse
rean War, one who served in WWII, four to die by enemy fire in Vietnam. Lane
who served in the Cold War, and nine was just 25 years old. She was born in
who were involved post-Vietnam. Zanesville, Ohio, on July 7, 1943, to John
“I was amazed at the organization of Edwin Lane and Mary Kathleen Buker.
this whole thing from beginning to end,” Lane was posthumously awarded the
Furek said. “The Honor Flight is obvi- Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm
ously to give honor to veterans. I served and the Bronze Star for Heroism. Her
during Vietnam. I wasn’t in Vietnam; name is among those inscribed on the
I was in a submarine, so I was on the Vietnam Memorial Wall (Panel 23w,
other coast. But the people that came Line 112).
back from Vietnam came back to noth- “We were fortunate the weather was
ing. They didn’t get a war reception. And good; it was sunny, a little bit crisp in the
this is kind of to make up for that. You morning, but it warmed up. We did a lot
get off the plane in Columbus, and they of walking, and we got to see all of the
released us two at a time so that when memorials,” said Furek. “When we got
we came around the corner, there were to Vietnam, Don was looking for Sha-
like 500 people there to greet us. I mean ron’s name, and he found it. — and they
banners, signs, screaming, cheering. We helped him do a rubbing.”
had name tags, so they called you by “When we did find her on the wall, they
name, like ‘Welcome Back’. If you have have somewhere there’s a list where you
any ability to have emotions at all, you’re can look up the name that tells you what
going to cry. I was tearing up. And it was panel on the wall that it’s on, so we found
beautiful, and they gave us our moment. it,” Beers explained. “And here, there