By Penny Ellison
The Parsons Advocate
Local D-Day Veteran, Vincent DiBacco, took the ride of a life time recently when he went on an “Honor Flight” to Washington, D.C. Huntington Honor Flight, is a part of the Honor Flight Network. Honor Flight is a non-profit organization created solely to honor American veterans for all their sacrifices.
DiBacco went on his adventure on May 2nd of this year. He is a native of Tucker County and currently resides in Cortland Acres. Due to the early departure of the flight he got to spend the night in Clarksburg with two assistants, Marie Grafton and Cindy Helmick, who made sure he was ready and at the plane in time for take- off. The large aircraft departed Clarksburg airport around 7:00 a.m. and after a short flight landed at Reagan International. DiBacco, who had never been in a large plane before, said he wasn’t quite sure they’d get off the ground. He made sure to get a window seat and very much enjoyed the beautiful view. He estimates that there was approximately 150 Vets and Guardians on board and purported another Tucker Countian, Murray Dearborn, but was unable to confirm that.
DiBacco, the last one to disembark, was stunned by the reception they received. There were crowds of people waving and with welcoming signs, brass band, and sirens.
“You really felt like a hero!” said DiBacco.
The “rock star” treatment didn’t end as they were whisked away in buses and vans all led by a police motorcade with sirens blaring and never had to stop for a single stop-light all day long. In fact just about everywhere they went, they received a hero’s welcome. He smiled as he reminisced about even little children coming up and wanting to shake his hand or touch him.
DiBacco unabashedly admits that his favorite part of the whole trip was getting to meet his “guardian” for the day: Army, First Lieutenant Lisa Langel. Perhaps it was no coincidence that most of her name spells angel, as that is what DiBacco found her to be. She volunteered to be his guardian angel for the day and was not only (in DiBacco’s words) genuine and quite good-looking but also very knowledgeable about the monuments they visited.
Some of the highpoints they attended were:
The World War II Veteran’s Memorial, which DiBacco found to be very impressive and quite solemn.
The Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial, where DiBacco found the name of his cousin and another Tucker County man who had both died during the conflict.
The Lincoln Memorial where his guardian Langel read the entire Gettysburg address to him since he was unable to read it.
The changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery, which DiBacco said was the most memorable to him.
Of all his memories and souvenirs from the trip such as his snapshots, tee-shirt, special D-Day Veteran button, DiBacco said his most precious was getting to meet his guardian angel.
DiBacco said: “An ol’ 93 year old World War II Veteran bonded with a present day Lieutenant.”
DiBacco encourages any other senior veteran to try and experience the Honor Flight. The next flight in our area is scheduled for May 23rd out of Huntington, West Virginia. More information on the Honor Flights in our area can be found on their website: www.honorflighthuntington.org .
Sidenote: According to the Department of Veteran Affairs approximately 800 WWII veterans die each day. Make time this memorial to say “thank-you” to one of them!
