Veteran takes whirlwind trip to D.C.

BELLE PLAINE — Jane Bostian and her sister started looking into honor flights for veterans quite a few years ago, but their dad, Bill, never seemed interested.

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Then Dick Staab’s fiance contacted Jane and asked if Bill would take the trip with Dick. Bill agreed to go.

The free, one-day trip to Washington, D.C. to see memorials to veterans was provided by Eastern Iowa Honor Flight. The organization wants to provide every veteran with a once in a lifetime opportunity to visit monuments and memorials built in their honor for the sacrifice and service they made for our freedom, its website says.

Bill served in the Iowa National Guard from 1961-1967. “It’s the oldest branch of the service,” said Bill, predating the Army by 140 years.

He went through basic training at Fort Leonard Wood and served with the guard in Cedar Rapids.

Dick Staab and Don Dede also served with the Cedar Rapids guard. Bill kept in touch with them after they left the Guard.

Don was originally from Boone and moved to Marion and later to Manchester, said Bill Dick lived in Guttenberg and has a house in Arizona.

“All three of us have lost our first wives,” Bill said.

Don died in 2019, and his wife thought about going on the Honor Flight with Bill and Dick as an escort, but her health made that impossible, said Jane.

Instead, Don’s son escorted Dick and Bill on the flight May 14.

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Bill was born and raised in Belle Plaine and spent his life on a farm, raising cattle, hogs, dairy cows. He graduated from Belle Plaine High School in 1958 and farmed with his parents until he bought them out.

His wife, Barb, died in 2011. Bill and Barb raised two girls and two boys on the farm — Sara Johnson, Jane, Dean and John Bostian.

Bill said he found out in February or March that he’d been accepted to go on the April or May trip.

Eastern Iowa Honor Flight also has D.C. trips in September and October.

“I’ve seen it all once before,” said Bill. “I was there for [President Barak] Obama’s first inauguration.” His older son was teaching at Bode and asked Bill to chaperone a group of high school students.

During that trip, Bill saw a lot of museums, he said, whereas the Honor Flight takes veterans to military memorials and Arlington National Cemetery.

“When I was in high school, I had a friend that moved away … He got killed over in Vietnam,” Bill said. Bill found his friend’s name on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

“When I was there before, I looked it up.” He also found his friend’s name on the traveling wall when it visited Blairstown.

“Those monuments are pretty sobering,” said Bill.

Eastern Iowa Honor Flights encourages all veterans to apply for on honor flight. Priority is given to World War II veterans, Korean War veterans and veterans with advanced health concerns.

Next in line of priority are veterans from the Vietnam War and other conflicts.

Due to a large waiting list, veterans should apply only once. Applications are kept on file.

Veterans of the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Coast Guard, Reserves and National Guard serving during war or in peace time, serving over seas or stateside are eligible to apply.

Eastern Iowa Honor Flight accepts applications from veterans in Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Jones, Johnson, Linn, Marshall, Tama, Polk, Poweshiek and Washington Counties.

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Bill said 87 veterans made the trip. With volunteers, chaperones and medical personnel, about 183 toured the monuments, said Jane.

The veterans flew out of Cedar Rapids about 4 a.m. In Washington, D.C., they were loaded onto buses.

“We go there and they loaded us on a bus that didn’t work,” said Bill. “While we was at the first stop, the World War II memorial, they traded buses.”

Each veteran wore a name tag and a lanyard color coded to match the buses they were to ride.

Mitch Fick, with KGAN news station in Cedar Rapids, traveled with the group and interviewed Bill, said Jane.

Everything is paid for on the trip, said Jane. If the veterans want souvenirs, their escorts are to buy them. Escorts are not to let veterans spend any money.

The veterans returned to Cedar Rapids about 10 p.m.

Volunteers had bottled water, flags, cookies and some bags of gifts for them, said Jane. “All kinds of people come together to welcome them back.”

“The volunteers were extremely nice,” said Bill.

“You had a lot of veterans from Vietnam,” said Bill. They talked a lot about how badly they were treated when they came back from Vietnam.

But following the honor flight, the veterans were greeted with a hero’s welcome, said Jane. Around 2,000 people met them when they got back to Cedar Rapids, and there were lot of tears, she said.

About 30 members of Bill’s family greeted the return flight.

Even people who don’t know anyone on the honor flight should meet them at the airport when the trip is over, said Jane. “Go experience the return. There’s nothing like it.”

Some veterans used wheelchairs during the trip, but Bill, who is 85 years old, walked the whole trip. And it didn’t seem to wear him out.

“We got home late that night,” said Bill “I was up in the field the next morning.”

“I took the day off,” said Jane. She asked her dad the day after the trip if he had recovered, and he said he didn’t know he had anything to recover from.

“Dick slept most of the next day,” said Bill.

“I think the farming keeps him going,” Jane said.

“I encourage all veterans to apply,” said Jane. Even if they weren’t deployed, they should go.

“You put in your time too,” said Jane. “Just because you weren’t deployed doesn’t mean you didn’t [do your part]”

The May trip was the 55th Eastern Iowa Honor Flight.