After 12 years of flying 1,500 World War II and Korean War veterans to the nation’s capital to see war memorials, Honor Flight San Diego will give Vietnam War veterans their turn this year.
“We’ve done such a good job of finding all of the San Diego County WWII veterans and Korean Veterans and have been able to take them on their Honor Flights,” said Holly Shaffner, the group’s spokeswoman. “But we’re at the end of that list.”
It was time to open up the program to Vietnam era service members, she said, “and we are just so excited about that.”
The final group of WWII and Korean War veterans go to D.C. in April.
On Sept. 30, 100 Vietnam veterans will make the three-day journey to Washington as a band of brothers to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, where they will spend as much time as they want or need, Shaffner said.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the veterans will visit the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Marine Corps Memorial and National Navy Yard Museum. They’ll witness the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery,
“We wanted to go big with our very first flight,” Shaffner said. “We wanted a unique flight. We found the Navy HA(L)-3 Seawolves to go on their Honor Flight,” a reference to Helicopter Attack Squadron Light.
Seawolves are encouraged to apply at www.HonorFlightSan Diego.org.
While Honor Flight estimates that there are 60,000 Vietnam veterans in San Diego County, for the September trip, there is a special invitation list.
“We found Navy Hal-3 Seawolves to go on their Honor Flight,” she said. “We could not find a more deserving group to be our first to go, especially since they were not formally recognized [by Congress] for 38 years after the Vietnam War.”
Shaffner listed their achievements.
No squadron flew more combat missions. They had over 78,000 missions with 139,000 flight hours and 1,500 medical evacuations. They were the most decorated squadron of the Vietnam War.
Squadron members received five Navy Crosses, 31 Silver Star Medals, two Legion of Merit Medals, five Navy and Marine Corps Medals, 219 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 156 Purple Hearts, 101 Bronze Star Medals.
Their service came at a price — 44 Seawolves were killed in action and over 200 wounded.
“That was huge, and that’s why they are going first,” she said.
The Navy Seawolves provided air support to Navy SEALs, Swift Boat crews and Patrol Boats on the Mekong River and in the Mekong Delta. Often flying in the dead of night, the members answered calls for help from sailors, who were often ambushed. The river was used by the Vietcong as a supply route during the war.
Gary Ely, 72, a gunner aboard one of the Seawolves’ Bell UH-1E Huey helicopter, said this week: “I’m excited. I think this recognition and being able to stand tall with my brothers when we go back is going to be a significant part of my life.
“It’s going to be a very memorable event, and I’m very grateful,” said Ely, who has been in touch with about 13 local Seawolves.
Although the Seawolves squadron was mostly a voluntary mission, Ely was assigned to the unit just after celebrating his 21st birthday in 1970.
Fellow Seawolf Walt Frazier, 82, answered questions alongside Ely on the USS Midway Museum on Wednesday.
Story continues below
Both had nothing but praise for their fellow Seawolves.
“In my opinion, they were the greatest people in the world,” Frazier said.
Both are modest about their Vietnam service, saying they had a job to do and simply did it. Yet they are both proud of their association with the Seawolves.
Speaking of their mission in Vietnam, Ely said: “We would often times stand by to make sure they (Navy SEALS) got their operation taken care of without any difficulties because we were mostly the first ones they called when they got into trouble.”
Frazier added: “I think it was a real good bond that we had with them. They depended on us, and we depended on them.”
They recalled that once the scramble horn sounded, they would go from a dead sleep into their flight suits stashed aboard the helicopters in two to three minutes.
Frazier said his squadron averaged five to six missions a day — three on patrol and two answering a call for help on the river. Two helicopters — each with a pilot, co-pilot and two gunners — went out on missions.
Ely referred to the Seawolves as the primary “police force over in the delta.”
Asked how low they traveled in their Hueys, Frazier laughed and said, “I would say 2 foot. … They can’t see you coming.
“When we were called, we went out. … The other services didn’t want to do what the Navy wanted done,” said Frazier, a retired career officer. “We’d go rain, sleet, hail — anything. We went.”
Frazier joined the Navy in 1958 at age 18 and retired as a senior chief petty officer in 1977. He served with the Seawolves from 1969 to 1970.
Although neither was wounded on missions, their aircraft took fire, and they returned to the base and patched up the holes, they said.
Asked what in his service was he most proud of, Frazier said, “Just being in the Seawolves.”
Surviving members of the Seawolves hold a reunion every other year.
Ely, who used to be a docent at the USS Midway, does maintenance on planes on display on the aircraft carrier, with a specialty interest in the Navy Bell UH-1E Huey’s. He adds that Hueys have played an important role in his life.
His time on the Midway gives Ely a chance to hang around with other veterans and share camaraderie.
Ely recognizes that some Vietnam veterans that he has been in contact over the years still suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Veterans from that war also weren’t given the homecoming that troops from other wars received.
“There’s no way you can experience what went on over there … unless you were there,” Ely said. “You couldn’t get it out of a book or pictures. You had to experience it.”
However, both Ely and Frazier said they have fared well in their post-combat time and say some other veterans of the Vietnam War – and WWII – had more difficult experiences during the service.
Going on the Honor Flight “shows that we’re getting a little bit of recognition that we never got when we came home,” Ely said. “For Vietnam veterans overall — whether you’re a Seawolf or not — it’s significant and I’m very grateful. Hopefully, I’ll get on the first flight.”
Shaffner said that after the September Honor Flight, reservations will be taken from Vietnam veterans for future trips.
The flights are free and funded through donations.
“We’re excited to go into this next chapter,” she said. “Hopefully we will fill the next 12 years with Vietnam vets who are so deserving of this trip.”
