Loyal veteran receives ‘welcome home’ through Honor Flight

By Valorie Brecht As the saying goes, every U.S. veteran signs a blank check to their country for an amount up to and including their life. But not every veteran is recognized or thanked for the sacrifices they make.

The Never Forgotten Honor Flight is one of the organizations working to change that. It is one of 129 hubs across the U.S. that flies veterans on a free round trip to Washington, D.C., to view the memorials put up in their honor. The organization serves central and northern Wisconsin veterans. Jerry Noeldner of Loyal was one of the veterans who went on Flight 47, which took 105 veterans to our nation’s capital on April 22.

“It was quite the trip. I kind of knew what to expect, but it went even beyond what I expected,” Jerry said.

Jerry served in the U.S. Army in the 362nd Engineers during the Vietnam War. He enlisted in January 1966 at the age of 18.

“I enlisted because I didn’t want to be in the infantry, and I thought there was a better chance of not being in the infantry if I enlisted,” said Jerry.

He became a heavy equipment mechanic. He completed his basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., and then went to Fort Belvoir, Va., for his military occupational

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specialty (MOS) training. He was there about six months. While there, in his free time he met up with some friends who lived in the area and together they visited Washington, D.C., although Jerry said it looks completely different now.

After learning his MOS, he returned home for one month before going to Vietnam in the fall of 1966. He spent one year there, repairing bulldozers, cranes and other heavy equipment that either broke down or was damaged in the war.

When he returned home, Jerry worked as a logger for a time. He also drove truck and skid-steer. In 1976, he bought his parents’ farm, and he continues to farm today.

Jerry was joined on the Honor Flight by his cousin Jim Dux, a fellow Army veteran who served in Vietnam. Jerry’s son Brian served as guardian for both of them.

Veterans often decide to register for the Honor Flight thanks to the encouragement of other veterans. Jerry was no different. Another cousin of his, Dennis Dux, took the initiative to make sure Jerry and Jim went on the flight. Dennis also served in the Vietnam War. He entered the Army on Oct. 22, 1970, and was honorably discharged on May 8, 1972, earning a Bronze Star.

“(Dennis) is the one who signed us up. We signed up during COVID. He signed all three of us up, because we wanted to go together,” said Jerry.

Sadly, Dennis passed away in December before he had a chance to go on the Honor Flight. Jerry and Jim kept his memory in mind as they took in the sights of the day.

One of the most impactful sights for Jerry was the first memorial he saw on the trip. Stretching 493 feet, 6 inches, and inscribed with tens of thousands of names, the Vietnam Wall gives a visual perspective of those lost to war.

“That stood out big time, because that’s where I was, that was the timeframe I was in. And to see a wall with 58,300 names on it of the people that died was a sight to see.”

Jerry experienced something unusual while viewing the wall with his cousin and guardian, after a stranger spotted his name tag.

“This guy come up to me and he says, ‘Do you know any Noeldners in South Dakota? Do you have any relation to South Dakota?’ I said, ‘Yeah, I think we do.’ And he told me his name and he said, ‘There’s a Noeldner on the wall.’ So he took us over and showed us a ‘Daniel M. Noeldner.’ And I had no idea.

“So later we did some research and found him online, and he had died in ’69. He was a medic. He was born in ’45, two years older than I was.

“And so we were standing there. I was just dumbfounded, looking at that name on the wall. I turned around and the guy was gone. It was just strange that we happened to be at that spot.”

As far as Jerry can tell, Daniel was a descendant of his grandfather’s brother, who moved to South Dakota.

The wall also called to mind memories of Jerry’s own time in the service and the people he met — particularly one individual.

“And another guy I was serving with in Vietnam — you only know guys by the name on their shirt, and his was Jones. That’s his last name. I didn’t know his first name. We called him Jonesy. And he was a welder. And he was from Kentucky and he was a farmer. And he had two weeks to go. He was going to go home. And he never made it,” Jerry paused, temporarily caught up in emotion.

“We had a lot in common, because we could talk farming. And he was gonna go home and get married, but he never made it.”

Other veterans were no doubt reminded of their brothers in arms who passed away, as they lingered at the wall.

The wall was not the only memorable part of the day. There were many more sights to see, including the World War II, Korean, Lincoln, Air Force and Iwo Jima memorials, as well as Arlington National Cemetery. Jerry and the other veterans witnessed the Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which although he had seen before, was still quite the sight to behold, said Jerry. Additionally, they viewed the Pentagon Memorial, with curved memorial benches for each of the 184 lives lost, both from American Airlines Flight 77 and people working in the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Beyond the memorials visited, the other thing that had the most impact was the appreciation all the veterans were shown. Jerry said the welcome he received on the Honor Flight was totally different from what he experienced coming home from Vietnam, when he was avoided and looked down upon.

“You’d go to the airport and nobody would sit near you. They’d walk around you, give you strange looks. It was an eerie feeling. I was a 19-year-old kid coming home from Vietnam; I didn’t know what to expect,” he said.

“Someone had asked, ‘Did this (Honor Flight) bring any closure?’ And at first I thought, not really. But yeah, it did. Because when we landed in D.C. we went to the Reagan airport terminal… There’s crowds lined up on both sides. They said, ‘Welcome home’ and there was a lot of shaking of hands and ‘Thanks for your service.’

“The reception was great and then when we were at the memorials, people would come up to you and want to shake your hand. That was really nice.”

He said there were several groups of students touring the monuments who lined up and shook all the veterans’ hands, not to mention individuals who took the time to offer a “thank you.”

“And then the same thing when we got home — the airport is not that big but it was full. We went down the center with people on both sides. I shook more hands than I think I ever have in my life… We got quite a welcome home.

“So that was the closure we got (now). It was really welcoming; it was nice.”

Jerry and other veterans also received a certificate, commemorative pin and medal, photo book and other tokens of appreciation from area organizations. In addition, they each got a big stack of thank-you letters, which meant a lot, said Jerry.

Jerry added that all the volunteers did a great job coordinating every detail of the day. He encouraged any eligible veterans — those who served in the U.S. military and received an honorable or general discharge before May 7, 1975 — to apply.

“You should sign up… It’s worth the trip,” he said. “You are treated like royalty and they really go out of their way to make sure you have a good experience.”

For more information, visit NeverForgottenHonorFlight.

com.

CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Shown above, the group of 94 Vietnam and 11 Korea era veterans poses for a photo outside the Lincoln Memorial.