Coastal Georgia Honor Flight: Why It Matters

Why It Matters

By Leslie Faulkenberry

Time.  It’s a precious commodity that cannot be replaced. It’s also hard to measure, because no one knows how much he or she might have.

When young American men and women were called upon to defend their country in World War II, the price was time. For 407,000 of them, it was all the time they had. For others who survived, it was the time they would have used to finish growing up. Instead, they spent those formative years risking their lives, taking on responsibilities that should have come in later years, when they were more prepared. But the enemy threatened to destroy us; there was no time.

In 2004, the World War II Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D. C. to recognize the 16,000,000 members of the American military. By then, the men and women who survived their service in World War II had entered their 80s. The heroes started to leave us at the rate of 640 per day. Their time to visit the memorial built in their honor was running out.

In 2005, Honor Flight, a non-profit organization dedicated to honor America’s veterans by arranging free trips to visit the memorial, was founded. Top priority is given to World War II veterans, who are the most advanced in years, and to those of later wars who have a terminal illness.

Glynn County natives Karen Mumford and Chandra Capps Kendall decided to form an Honor Flight hub, or operational base, for area veterans early this year. Chandra had also volunteered on four additional flights as a guardian, or personal attendant, for veterans after her father had experienced a flight. An immediate bond was formed, and the two women began the enormous task of organizing Coastal Georgia Honor Flight. They partnered with Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation and asked Duane Harris to be chairman. They then began to put their energies into raising money, selecting guardians and reaching out to veterans who were able to make the trip. The amount of work was overwhelming, but dedicated community volunteers joined to help them. People gave generously of their money and their time. The trip to Washington became a reality, and is scheduled for May 2, 2015.

Chandra Kendall knew from experience how difficult the 645-mile trip could be for elderly veterans on a bus or a train. She and Karen Mumford looked into chartering a plane, but the cost was out of reach. Karen contacted Scott Stambaugh, of Stambaugh Aviation, for advice.

“Our company routinely donates to various community causes, so it would have been easy just to write a check,” he admitted. “But I felt I could make a greater impact if I donated my time, too.” His skills and knowledge of the business helped make the flight possible and soon others in the Glynn County aviation business community joined the effort. More veterans heard about Honor Flight, and more applications arrived. The hub acquired a larger airplane, a 737, that has enough room for Coastal Georgia veterans, their guardians, a medical director and other key people to make the journey comfortably. For the veterans, the journey represents more than miles flown. It is a trip back in time.

When Frank Giacobbe graduated from high school in 1944, he dreamed of going to college to study journalism. Instead, he was drafted immediately. He joined the 358th Battalion as an infantry rifleman, and marched with General George Patton into the Battle of the Bulge. When enemy artillery rained down on American troops, the teenager-turned-warrior was forced to dive into roadside ditches filled with icy water for protection. His company captured over 1,700 enemy soldiers in three weeks. Many were “quite belligerent” at the prospect of taking orders from a “skinny little 118-pound kid.”

Frank’s last duty station during the Occupation was Nuremberg, where military tribunals brought Nazi war criminals to justice. He was astonished to see the defendants proudly signing autographs “like they were movie stars.” One of the guards got Frank a set of the signatures, which he keeps in a scrapbook.  He is still troubled by the horrors they inflicted, and the arrogance or false pleas of ignorance of atrocities with which many of them met their fate on the gallows.

As he looks at his most treasured service memento, the Combat Infantry Badge, Frank Giacobbe shared, “I wish people could realize all we went through to save their freedom.”

Austin Pierce was a happy-go-lucky Georgia farm boy at 17. His main concerns were dating and having fun with friends. He had no time for anything as serious as future plans. But it was wartime, and when he turned 18, Uncle Sam made his plans for him. He became an infantryman in the 78th Division, First Army.

In November 1946, he was shipped out to join the fierce combat in Belgium and Germany. “We were young and had trained for our role in the war,” he explained. “We didn’t know enough to be scared.” Austin’s company was pinned down in minefields, surrounded by snipers and showered with artillery fire. American troops had endured 40% casualties at this point. “What hurts you most in action like that is to see your buddies get hit and get killed; hearing them yell for help and from pain at the same time,” he wrote to his parents.

Austin’s combat encounter in the Hurtgen Forest was the war’s longest battle on German soil, and his last.  Artillery fire killed his buddy and company captain as they fought beside him. When a shell exploded in the treetops over his head, shrapnel tore into his back. He insists that his wound was nothing serious, but he spent many weeks in the hospital and convalescent facilities.

Today, he is excited and enthusiastic to join the Coastal Georgia Honor Flight. His daughter, Debbie Hodges, is his Guardian. His thoughts turn to those who never made it home. In comparison, “I didn’t do that much,” he protests. But Austin Pierce and his fellow passengers on Honor Flight did more than just survive. First, they saved the world. Then, when they returned home, they rebuilt it.

When Harry Moffett visited the AOPA Fly-In at McKinnon St Simons Island Airport last November, he learned of Coastal Georgia Honor Flight and immediately signed up to be a guardian. He knows Washington D.C. like few other people. He joined the Marine Corps in the 1960s, and was selected to serve in the elite Marine Color Guard. His duties included participating in official state visits from international leaders, parades and other events that called for the utmost in military precision and decorum. Harry’s service scrapbook is filled with photographs of the Color Guard at important events at national monuments.

Among his most treasured photographs are of his participation in President John F. Kennedy’s funeral procession. He knows the healing effects of ceremony and tradition. He is passionate in his gratitude for the veterans of World War II. “These guys saved us,” he acknowledges. “We must do this as soon as we can.”

Their country needed them and they did what was asked. They acted first, and reflected on it decades later. Even as teenagers, the veterans of service in World War II agreed with the oft-repeated phrase that freedom is not free.

So they bought it for all of us--with their time. Now, while there is still time left, we have a chance to repay some of that debt. To donate funds for May’s flight, you may send a check made payable to “CCGF – Coastal Georgia Honor Flight Fund” Communities of Coastal Georgia Foundation, Inc., 1626 Frederica Road, Suite 201, St. Simons Island, GA 31522.

For more information about the Coastal Georgia Honor Flight program, please visit coastalgeorgiahonorflight.org.