Walter Smith was thrilled when he learned he had been chosen to travel on Saturday’s Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to Washington. The 91-year-old World War II veteran from Racine had been diagnosed with colon cancer four years ago and had been in and out of hospitals and nursing homes this year. But the honor flight motivated him to work hard on his rehabilitation. In a cruel twist, Smith died Saturday morning shortly after his family arrived at Mitchell International Airport to drop him off.
“I really, truly believe the flight kept him hanging on for much longer,” said his son Mark Smith. “He was extremely excited about the whole trip. He definitely was looking forward to going. It was the driving force for him to get better.” About 100 World War II and Korean War-era veterans traveled Saturday on the flight, which provides free trips to Washington to visit monuments and the changing of the guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
Smith’s family said that on the drive to the airport from Racine he was happy and excitedly talked about the trip. When Smith became quiet, they figured he had fallen asleep. But when they tried to wake him up after pulling up to the departures area at the airport, they realized something was wrong. His nephew ran into the airport and found a nurse who pulled Smith out of the car and began CPR. Within minutes several medical personnel worked to revive Smith. He died on the ambulance ride to a local hospital.
Stars and Stripes Honor Flight officials posted the sad news on Facebook. With the rapidly dwindling number of World War II veterans, the honor flights are working hard to take as many as possible to Washington. Smith’s death “underscores our mission that time is of the essence,” said Stars and Stripes Honor flight spokeswoman Renee Riddle. Like many World War II veterans, Smith didn’t talk much about his experiences. His son, who was born in Naples, Italy, said all he knew about his father was that he fought in the war. It wasn’t until after his death when Mark Smith found his dad’s military discharge papers that he learned his father was wounded and earned two Purple Hearts. He was a sergeant in an infantry unit and was on the second wave of soldiers hitting the Normandy beaches on D-Day.
At Smith’s funeral Wednesday night at Wilson Funeral Home, 1212 Lathrop Ave., his casket will be draped with an American flag. That flag will be taken on the next Stars and Stripes Honor Flight in September…
Article provided by jsonline.com
