Veterans honored in Washington, D.C.

    A group of 30 veterans from southeast Iowa have flown to Washington, D.C., to visit the National World War II Memorial. The group congregated in Muscatine bright and early this morning for a public send-off at 7 a.m. The veterans then hopped in a bus to the Moline Airport where they boarded their plane. They will spend four days in the capital. 

    The National World War II Memorial they will visit was built in 2004 and is referred to as the ?Jewel of the Mall,? owing to its location in the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. The memorial features 24 engraved panels that depict scenes from the European Theater on the North side and from the Pacific Theater on the South side. The memorial is surrounded by 56 columns that represent the states and territories that contributed to the war effort. In the center of the memorial is a pool with several fountains that shoot water in the air. 

According to the memorial?s website, its purpose is to honor the 16 million who served in the armed forces during the war, the more than 400,000 who died and the millions who supported the war effort from home.

    All of the veterans on the trip are veterans of the Second World War. Several of them are from Washington County. Veteran Tom English said he is excited to see the memorial.

    ?I?ve seen pictures of the memorial on television, but this will be the first time I will have seen it in person,? said English. ?From the pictures I?ve seen, the memorial looks outstanding. There are big pillars up that have the names of the states on them, and the fountains look great at night.?

    English served in the Army in the European Theater during the war. He was in the 127th AA-Gun battalion which was responsible for operating artillery and anti-aircraft weapons. He said his battalion shot down German V-1 rockets (precursor to the V-2) known as ?buzz bombs,? which were fired principally at London, England and Antwerp, Belgium.     

English had 27 reunions with his unit over the years, the most recent of which was two years ago in Cincinnati. He said that some of the veterans talked about the memorial at that reunion, and they said they hoped they lived long enough to be able to see it. English said he is glad to have lived long enough to fulfill that dream.

Bob Ruppert, who enlisted in the Navy and served in China, said that he, too, is excited to visit the memorial. He said another group of veterans went to D.C. last year, and told him the memorial was ?unbelievable.? 

Ruppert said all the veterans on the honor tour were given a book about the memorial beforehand. The book contains several photographs of the monument at different times of the day and information about how it was built.

?I?ll have my camera with me, and I plan on taking plenty of pictures,? said Ruppert.

    Washington veteran Bob Huber, who built airstrips in the Philippines and on Okinawa for a naval construction battalion (CBs, also ?Seabees?), said he went to D.C. several years ago and saw the city?s other historical sites such as Arlington National Cemetery and the Jefferson Memorial.

Of the World War II Memorial, Huber remarked, ?It looks like they spent a lot of money on it. It looks very nice in photographs, but we?ll have a better view when we?re there.?

For more, see our Oct. 14 print edition.