Mel
11-04-2010, 06:02 PM
TRIANGLE, Va. - After escorting hundreds of World War II veterans at a time to the nation's capital over the past few years, Bill Williams called his latest venture, taking seven vets from Nebraska to a war museum, a "milk run."
But for the Marines who visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Wednesday, it was another opportunity to feel proud of their service nearly 70 years ago, said Don Stella.
Stella, 87, saw action in the Pacific on Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands and Tarawa.
At the museum on Wednesday, he was silenced by the realistic depiction of soldiers taking the beach at Tarawa.
"It's too real," Stella, of Omaha, muttered while viewing a scene. "It brings memories. Memories you want to forget."
Still, he said every Marine should see the museum.
Williams, also of Omaha, organized the Heartland Honor Flights, taking nearly 1,500 veterans from the area to see the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2008 and 2009.
Those flights were funded by donations. The seven veterans paid for their own flights on Wednesday to see the Marine museum, near Quantico, Va.
Williams came up with the idea to visit the Marine museum during a recent trip to the base for his son Tom's graduation from officer candidate school. Impressed with the museum, he mentioned it to a few of the Marines he knew from honor flights.
"So I told a few of the guys, 'Before you die, you have got to see this museum,'" Williams said.
That's how seven Marine buddies from Nebraska ended up taking Wednesday's early flight to Washington and the evening flight home.
Stella said he enjoyed studying the exhibits, as well as stops at the World War II Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial and lunch at a Marine-owned restaurant.
http://m.omaha.com/om/db_90923/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=AEA78477E789B46383FC6 5F63EEC067E?contentguid=eft3nd8h&src=cat&full=true#display
But for the Marines who visited the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Wednesday, it was another opportunity to feel proud of their service nearly 70 years ago, said Don Stella.
Stella, 87, saw action in the Pacific on Guadalcanal, the Solomon Islands and Tarawa.
At the museum on Wednesday, he was silenced by the realistic depiction of soldiers taking the beach at Tarawa.
"It's too real," Stella, of Omaha, muttered while viewing a scene. "It brings memories. Memories you want to forget."
Still, he said every Marine should see the museum.
Williams, also of Omaha, organized the Heartland Honor Flights, taking nearly 1,500 veterans from the area to see the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., in 2008 and 2009.
Those flights were funded by donations. The seven veterans paid for their own flights on Wednesday to see the Marine museum, near Quantico, Va.
Williams came up with the idea to visit the Marine museum during a recent trip to the base for his son Tom's graduation from officer candidate school. Impressed with the museum, he mentioned it to a few of the Marines he knew from honor flights.
"So I told a few of the guys, 'Before you die, you have got to see this museum,'" Williams said.
That's how seven Marine buddies from Nebraska ended up taking Wednesday's early flight to Washington and the evening flight home.
Stella said he enjoyed studying the exhibits, as well as stops at the World War II Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial and lunch at a Marine-owned restaurant.
http://m.omaha.com/om/db_90923/contentdetail.htm;jsessionid=AEA78477E789B46383FC6 5F63EEC067E?contentguid=eft3nd8h&src=cat&full=true#display