South Bend veteran to take Honor Flight to D.C.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Lonnie Taylor will board a plane Wednesday morning for a trip 60 years in the making.

The 83-year-old South Bend resident is one of two veterans from the city headed to Washington, D.C., on Honor Flight Northeast Indiana, a free, all-day trip to see the memorials in the nation’s capital.

Taylor volunteered for the draft and was inducted in 1964. He served in the U.S. Army for two years during the Vietnam War, stationed with the 25th Division at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii.

“It was tough going there,” Taylor said. “We lost a lot of people that came in. A lot of my friends was lost in the battle. And you know, those things, we don’t talk a whole lot about them unless we talk to other veterans.”

Living with PTSD

After returning home, Taylor suffered from PTSD.

“He had dreams at night that I would have to shake him, wake him up, tell him that he was dreaming. And he still, at times, has those dreams,” said Charlotte Taylor, his wife. “It’s scary at first, but naturally now I’m used to it. But it’s not as bad as it used to be.”

Many Vietnam War veterans received poor treatment after the war.

“A lot of them just came home from war and some of them, quite frankly, came home and tried to hide from some of that history, and now we’re being able to bring them out of that shadow,” said Adam Brouwer, vice president of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana.

Taylor said it feels different to be honored for his service after so many years.

“When you hadn’t been used to being honored, it does seem feel different,” he said.

Five-year wait

Taylor has been waiting five years for the honor flight.

“He’s been waiting for this for a long time, and when he got the call, he was just like a little boy excited about a new toy,” Charlotte Taylor said.

“Everything has been getting closer and closer, so I have one more day, I should be on my way,” Taylor said.

The flight leaves at 5 a.m. with a parade of people waving off the 87 veterans at the Fort Wayne International Airport. Each veteran gets a guardian. Taylor’s will be former Honor Flight Northeast Indiana President Bob Myer.

Honor Flight Northeast Indiana currently has a two-year waiting list. The organization prioritizes older veterans first but encourages any veteran who signs up to wait for their recognition.

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