INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Ten World War II veterans who now call Indian River Estates home were part of the 80-plus delegation that flew to Washington, DC, last weekend – the last of the Honor Flights for the year.
The men and their guardians left the Vero Beach retirement community shortly after 1 a.m. to be at Palm Beach International Airport in time for a 6:30 a.m. flight, hoping to sleep on the way.
Jim Worman enlisted in March, 1942, and served until December, 1945 – he was training to be a pilot when the bombs were dropped on Japan.
“We didn’t know anything about it,” he said of the big bombs. When he saw the newspaper headlines, he was puzzled by the “A-Tom” bombs, as he remembers calling them.
Coming home from the World War II Memorial in Washington, Worman and his neighbors – along with 70 other area veterans – were welcomed back at the Palm Beach airport by more than 1,000 flag-waving cheering people.
“I’m still wound up over it,” Worman said. “It will take me time to wind down.”
The trip helped restore the veterans’ faith in the American citizenry, he said. Before the journey, he felt younger Americans were becoming complacent and losing patriotism, but seeing young children in the crowd greeting them gave him hope the country will get back on the track.
“This is still the best country in the world,” he said.
Worman was joined by Lyle Pelot, Carey Parnell, Richard Powell, Hugh Todd, and Edgar Jadwin – each with his own memories of World War II to relive while on the Honor Flight and visiting the Memorial.
They gathered before the flight and shared their stories – the first time they’d swapped tales despite being neighbors.
At 87, Jadwin joked he was the first to join the military. A self-proclaimed Army brat, Jadwin was born into the military in 1926, to a father who served in the Horse Calvary in Kansas – his father rode for the 1936 U.S. Olympic team in Berlin and received a medal from Adolf Hitler.
Unable to pass an eye exam, Jadwin couldn’t attend West Point, but that didn’t stop him from serving. He was drafted out of his junior high school year into jump school – training to be a paratrooper.
Plans changed, and he ended up in Europe as a surplus officer, negotiating contracts to recover downed planes and wrecked ships.
Able to speak Italian and French, Jadwin was sent all over the region, including to Marrakech, Morrocco, to deliver a Jeep to a religious leader. When guards refused to let him in with the Jeep, the leader appeared and invited Jadwin and his fellow serviceman to join him for a round of golf – the Jeep was to be used as the golf cart.
Pelot joined the military in September, 1942. “I didn’t enlist,” he joked. “I was invited.”
He served with the 379th Bomb Group in the Air Force in medical administration and was one of the first to bomb a U-boat off the south of France.
“I’m very proud to have been part” of the bomb group, he said.
Pelot and two brothers, Carroll and Don, all served in World War II. All survived, serving in France, though one was injured and sent home for treatment. The other served in the Military Police.
Pelot previously visited the World War II Memorial, with family members.
“It’s awesome when you see all the names,” he said, adding it was an honor to go back on the Honor Flight.
Parnell joined the Navy in December, 1940, went through basic training in Norfolk and served aboard three different destroyers and in all three theatres – the North Atlantic, Africa and the Pacific.
At the end of the war, he was aboard a ship witnessing the signing of the Japanese surrender.
“It was really something,” Parnell said.
Tearing up, he recalled action he saw aboard various destroyers, once towing an Australian cruiser that had been hit by a kamikaze pilot.
“I don’t like to talk about it,” he said.
He was also there when the USS Franklin aircraft carrier was hit by a kamikaze and lost more than 800 of its crew. His ship came in and picked up survivors.
Parnell was the chief torpedoman, firing once the captain or executive officer gave the order.
His ships were credited with taking down a Japanese freighter and two submarines, along with 16 planes.
Parnell’s guardian – all veterans are paired with escorts during their visit – was his grandson, Graham Goerg, currently serving in Marine Corps Intelligence.
Goerg teaches encryption and has trained personnel in Afghanistan. Parnell hadn’t seen his grandson in two years.
Powell didn’t enlist, either. “I had a very strong invitation in the mail,” he joked. He joined the infantry at age 22 in 1943.
He was sent to Army Specialized Training Program for six months to be an engineer, but plans changed and he was sent back to the Infantry – “it was too good to last,” he quipped.
Instead, Powell became a gunner handling 60mm mortars, serving at Omaha Beach and in Holland and northwest Germany.
“I slept in a muddy fox hole,” he recalled.
During a mortar attack in Germany, he caught shrapnel in the hip and was sent home in March 1945 for treatment.
“It’s certainly a pleasure to be invited on this trip,” Powell said.
Todd was 17 when he joined, following in the footsteps of his brother Bill.
He knew what branch he wanted to be a part of – the Navy.
“I’ll get my ass wet, but I won’t eat dirt,” he recalled.
Todd was invited to join the Navy Drum and Bugle Corp., which kept him from learning seamanship.
Aboard a “baby” aircraft carrier leaving from California, a superior ordered him to swab the deck, but rebuked him for doing it all wrong, telling him to throw out the swab.
Todd threw it overboard – and everyone started laughing.
“I was in trouble,” he said, because the swab should be tied to a line before being thrown overboard.
“I must have missed that class,” Todd said.
After that, Todd spent much of his time in the galley, scrubbing potatoes.
Also along on the trip to DC with the Indian River Estates veterans were Harry Dennis, Tom Hoffman, Tom Dooley and John Wakeland.
Among the guardians traveling with the veterans from Indian River Estates was Erin Montegut, who was paired with Pelot.
Not a military person herself, Montegut said she wanted a way to help the veterans.
“This is my opportunity to give back to them,” she said.
Honor Flight is a national organization that transports veterans to Washington, DC, to visit the memorials dedicated to their service.
Anyone interested in being part of the next flight from the area is encouraged to visit www.HonorFlight.org.