By VERNON ROBISON
Moapa Valley Progress
It was a grand triumphal entry on Sunday afternoon, April 29 at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas. As Logandale resident Bryant Robison, and approximately 20 other southern Nevada veterans deboarded an airplane, they were treated to a true hero’s welcome.
Their procession followed a full military pipe and drum band through the airport. Other travellers and airport bystanders, both young and old, quickly lined the pathway to shake each veteran’s hand, welcome him home and thank him for his service.
“We were treated like royalty,” Robison said. “Everywhere we went people were there to greet us. It was a good experience and it was an honor to be there.”
Robison and his colleagues had just spent the weekend on an “Honor Flight” excursion to Washington DC. The trip was sponsored by a national non-profit “Honor Flight Network” whose mission is to send America’s aging veterans to Washington DC to visit the memorials dedicated to honoring their service. All expenses are paid on these trips for the veterans and no expense is ever spared.
Robison served in Korea between 1952-1954. He spent four months as a combat soldier during some of the heaviest fighting of the war. He participated in what became the last big battle of the Korean conflict over a small, but critical, outpost at Pork Chop Hill. During his time there the fighting in Korea ended.
But the war was never officially concluded.
“It was not really a war to be won,” Robison said. “And with the current events being what they are, it is clear that we are still fighting it.”
The Honor Flight group departed from Las Vegas on Friday, April 27 and flew to Baltimore-Washington International Airport. There they were treated to a similar hero’s welcome. From there, they were transported with full police escort to their nearby hotel.
“Everywhere we went we had a police escort,” Robison said. “They would move the traffic out of the way for us and get us through the red lights and everything.”
On the following day, the veterans were in for a busy schedule. They travelled the short distance to Washington DC and visited a number of sites including the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, and the Washington and Lincoln Memorials.
Robison said that the stop at the Korean Memorial was especially meaningful to him. He said that the memorial was well conceived to evoke the experiences that he had in the war and to memorialize those who fought in the conflict.
The tour also included a stop at the Arlington National Cemetery where the veterans witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“That was an impressive ceremony,” Robison said. “And it was a reminder to me that the real heroes were not those of us ho were there on the trip, but the group that we went back there to visit and to memorialize.”
Throughout the sightseeing, Robison was assisted and attended by a Korean American volunteer, a woman named Chung Lee who had spent the first nine years of her life living in South Korea.
“When she found out that I was a battle veteran in Korea she quickly latched on to me and became my escort for the trip,” Robison said. “She took very good care of me.”
Robison said that the Honor Flight paid every expense and that the veterans were given whatever they wanted during the journey.
“There was one guy who got to the airport before we left and realized he had forgotten his wallet at home,” Robison recalled. “They arranged for someone to wire an image of his ID so he could get on the airplane. But from there on he didn’t need a wallet. None of us did. They wouldn’t let us pay a nickle for anything.”
Though the Korean conflict for which he fought is still very much an open question, Robison emphasized the sense of importance he felt in having fought for freedom in that part of the world. “There is no doubt that it made a valuable difference,” he said. “South Korea today is thriving and it’s people are prospering and doing well. If we hadn’t taken action, the entire peninsula would be in poverty just like North Korea is now. So I think it was a worthwhile thing.”
