Join us as long-time ABC 7 reporter Paul Meincke sits down with our senior war heroes from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to explore their stories and memories of serving their nation.
Episodes
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Through 41 missions over Germany during WWII, George Behling, Jr., escorted bombers in his P-51 Mustang and safely returned home. During the 42nd, however, his engine failed -- forcing the 20-year-old to land in enemy territory and to take what he calls "the hard way home."
Wednesday Feb 24, 2021
Wednesday Feb 24, 2021
During the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, Army PFC Dick Idstein was wounded. The surgeon who operated on him asked "Do you want the bullet?" Dick said yes -- and promptly sent the bullet home to his mother. That act preserved a tangible piece of history from the famous battle, and Dick used it during his career as a grade school teacher to illustrate the realities of war for his students.
Friday Jan 22, 2021
Friday Jan 22, 2021
On April 15, 1971, Jim Zwit and Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division walked into an ambush in the A Shau Valley of Vietnam. Eight men in Delta Company were killed, and a severely wounded Jim was expected to be the ninth. Instead, after 20 months in the hospital, he lived. To honor a pact he made with one of the fallen, Jim set out to find the families of those eight men in what became a decades-long quest that only divine intervention could complete. In this Season II debut of Honor. Thank. Inspire., Jim shares in riveting detail the battle, the aftermath, and the search that became his driving force.
Wednesday Dec 23, 2020
Wednesday Dec 23, 2020
Mel Copeland loves his country so much, he kissed the ground he walked on when he returned home from war during WWII. He wanted to serve his nation as a paratrooper or a pilot, but was quite literally too tall to fly -- so he became a ground crew member of the famed Tuskegee Airmen. In this first season finale of our Honor. Thank. Inspire. podcast, Mel's wisdom and deeply respectful approach to life shine through with a message that's as timeless as it is timely.
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Tuesday Dec 15, 2020
Honor Flight Chicago Co-Founder, retired CEO and current Board member Mary Pettinato got the idea to start an Honor Flight hub in Chicago after taking her father to see his WWII Memorial shortly after it opened. Twelve years and 95 flights later, Mary has seen it all and has so many stories to share about the impact our mission has had on our senior war heroes and their communities.
Monday Nov 23, 2020
Monday Nov 23, 2020
WWII veteran Bernie Bluestein was an art student in 1943 when he saw an Army recruiting flyer posted on the bulletin board at school looking for artists to form a new outfit. He ended up as part of a unit so secret that his escapades in Europe remained classified for nearly 50 years! Now free to tell his story, hear his fascinating tale of serving with the US Army’s 23rd Headquarters Special Troops -- the "Ghost Army" -- deployed successfully along the Rhine river.
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
On the occasion of this Veterans Day week, Honor Flight Chicago Board President John Ptak sat down with our own Paul Meincke to discuss HFC's approach to its mission during the current pandemic. Ptak details the many ways that Honor Flight Chicago has continued thanking its heroes even while flights to D.C. are paused.
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
WWII veteran Hank Roberson was drafted into the Army from his home in the segregated south. He arrived in Normandy one week after D-Day assigned to the 957th Quartermaster supply company -- part of what would become known as the vital "Red Ball Express" supply chain. In this timely episode, Roberson discusses being confined to a non-combat role because of racial barriers, his reaction to black soldiers like himself finally being allowed to fight during the Battle of the Bulge, and his experiences with discrimination during and after the war.
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Tuesday Oct 13, 2020
Korean War veteran Bob Guilfoyle paints a picture of what it was like to serve in the Korean War. This proud Marine battled the Chinese, the cold and the wildlife as a forward observer in what he firmly believes was his patriotic duty. This episode features several light-hearted tales as well as a story about the stark realities of war. It also includes a chance meeting so incredible it must be heard to be believed!
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Tuesday Sep 29, 2020
Long-time ABC 7 Chicago reporter Paul Meincke and WWII Navy Seaman Marion Burns discuss Burns' time aboard the USS Franklin, a ship which withstood multiple attacks including a direct bombing hit in March of 1945 that resulted in the loss of more than 800 of his fellow sailors. Burns' powerful story includes his ongoing struggle with PTSD and the impact his Honor Flight Chicago experience had on him.