THE LEXINGTON HONOR FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: TWO VETS REPORT

THE LEXINGTON HONOR FLIGHT EXPERIENCE: TWO VETS REPORT

The experience of our military Veteran is intense, emotional and most personal, therefore unforgettable. Through boot camp, drill, training of all sorts, one arrives at a close sense of being comrades, a brotherhood or camaraderie that is strong and binding, truly unforgettable. When combat experience, with all i its dangers, and fear , with memories of our lost brothers, is added to this strong sense of brotherhood, the intensity is magnified.

"Never have I felt as close to my wife or kids as I did with my brothers in combat," confided one Vietnam Veteran to me. The fact is there is nothing like this sense of closeness in civilian life.

Thus, there is a loneliness in the civilian life of a Veteran which is inescapable, which no civilian can understand. This may be one reason there are so many suicides of returning Veterans today. The disconnect and emotional transition is a chasm, hugely challenging.

Recent research shows the disconnect is so strong it can be buried for 30 years and then severely emerge as PTSD, to overwhelm., as has happened with one Vietnam Veteran friend.

Our return on the Honor flight was not only one of emotional and physical exhaustion. We also return with a reminder of the profound disconnect of our military experience with our current civilian life with a renewal of long forgotten memories. The contrast can be overwhelming. The intensity of our military experience cannot compare with the ordinariness of our civilian lives ever since.

We just experienced the Honor Flight of the Lexington Chapter this past weekend, September 26. What we remembered when we visited those war memorials in Washington, were the memories of our buddies of long ago, with the host of memories and emotions we shared. That was deeply moving and heart wrenching, not just for us, but also for Veteran friends we were privileged to be on the flight with.

The range of emotions in that day of visiting those war memorials is too rich and varied to be broached here. Let us say only that the day was an awesome experience, deeply moving as we remembered the pain of buddies lost. The underserved gift of life now which we survivors have was also constantly present.

Now we want to tell something which is hard to express. We are still stunned by its intensity, overwhelmed by it, choking at the memories.

Remember there is a long loneliness in the life of the Veteran. Ask most any person "What is a Veteran?" 

Most will answer "Someone who served our country in the military."

Excuse me. This puts our service on the same level as anyone serving our country in government or politics.

"A Veteran is someone who signed a blank check to Uncle Sam to put his life and limbs in harm's way, risking everything, to protect and preserve our freedoms.": We surrendered total control over our lives to join a great and awesome brotherhood.;

What we have returned with is a profound sense of the loss of lives, buddies whose lives were cut short, the enormous cost of freedom, and gratitude that we are still alive and here. What is overwhelming for us is the profound sense of loss as well as gratitude, pain and wonder.

Therefore to arrive back at the Lexington airport to such an enthusiastic warm welcoming, long ranks of adults and children wanting to thank us for our service, was and is simply the most powerful experience of our lives. Someone, right now--here, appreciates what was the price we paid.

One Veteran friend said: "I never felt so loved in my life."

We both can say: "My heart has never been so deeply moved as going through that human tunnel of welcoming and cheering humans, of all sorts, shapes, sizes and ages. Awesome".

Whoever organized this day , and helped make it happen, can scarcely imagine what it means to the long loneliness of us Veterans. Unless they happen also to be Veterans. We are forever indebted to such awakening and generous response of so many persons in making this happen..

Thank you, Lexington. Thank you Honor Flight chapter organizers and volunteers;, Thank you our assigned guardians for this trip, all, in helping make this day such a deeply moving unforgettable experience .

We know, deep in our hearts, that we are the lucky survivors, To have someone, indeed, whole rows of people, hundreds,, thank us for the price we and our brothers paid for our freedoms, is moving beyond words.

P.S. Four days later.

Now we realize in our report, we omitted two powerful aspects of our Honor Flight experience. The hundreds of welcoming people at the airport Saturday night still overwhelms four days later.

But "Mail Call," at the airport before leaving Washington must be reported. A large envelope containing scores of messages and letters from adult and children expressing gratitude for our service is very moving. Paschal's wife , because he is blind, says she can read only about three each day, which is fine. Both of us intend to respond to each letter which had a return address. That thoughtfulness and planning to give us a great welcome also made the day extraordinary.

Before we run out of superlatives to say about this experience, we both want to brag on our assigned "guardians." They were most caring, solicitous, generous, and wonder-filled in the life experience each brought to their day long chore of accompanying us. Each guardian made the day a very special experience and each person remains unforgettable in our lives. We remain grateful beyond words.

Paschal Baute and Charlie Eyer.

Paschal served on and off over 24 years, 1948-1972, with all four branches mostly as a Navy Chaplain. He now serves as Chaplain to the Lexington Blind Veterans Chapter.

Charlie was a medical lab tech attached to 121^st Evacuation Hospital, near Seoul, Korea.

Paschal is a blind Veteran with a diagnosis of "Catastrophically Disabled."
He is using his Hines VA Blind Rehab training in computers to write books for his Veteran family adn others,  in coping with setbacks and loss, learning resiliieince inch by inch. His latest is a children's story for special needs kids, Lot6tie Mae, the Turkey "Who Could Not Stop Dreaming. He has used his VA computer training to create some 22 books on kindle and ten on Amazon.  Charlie Eyer is his regular editor as well as his storytelling buddy in delivering folk fairy tales to many school children for ten years..
see link: www.paschalbaute.com/resilience