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Operation Greatest Gift Update |
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 On the April 22 - 24 trip to Washington, D.C. for Grand Lodge's "Operation Greatest Gift," Anaheim Lodge 207 was well represented. World War II veterans Horace Zimmerman, Bill Fee, Dale Johnson, Art Paris, Francis Tanner and William Bottorff along with his wife
Bernice were joined by guardians Merritt Read, Aaron Berger and Alejo Velarde. 37 World War II veterans, 12 guardians and 4 family members from all over Southern California made the trip.
The visit to the World War II Memorial was fantastic. All the veterans were well received by the young people and adults who thanked them for their service, asked to shake their hands and take pictures with them. This was definitely the highlight for the veterans. You should have seen the pride in their faces. All the veterans thought the Memorial was beautiful and the weather could not have been better. A teenage signing group from Alabama took pictures with some of the veterans and then sang "The Star Spangled Banner" to them. All the veterans had tears in their eyes. A high school band and choir from Florida, dressed in tuxedos and formal black dresses, entertained everyone for 1/2 hour. We were fortunate to witness their performance and it was enjoyed by everyone at the Memorial. The veterans also enjoyed seeing the Vietnam and Korean Memorials. After dinner, several of the Anaheim group, along with others from the entire group, took a night trolley tour of Washington, D.C. which included the Iwo Jima (Marine) Memorial, the Capitol and Memorials, and the White House.
At the White House they got too close to landing practices of Marine One helicopters and were run off by security. All of the veterans expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to visit their Memorial and were appreciative of Most Worshipful Kenneth Nagel's project. Special thanks to Larry Collister and John Greifendorff for their assistance transporting our members to and from LAX.
Merritt
Merritt, (and all)
I'd echo, and say that that is a very thorough and accurate report.
I KNOW that the veterans had a SPECTACULAR time, and we, as Guardians, were thanked many, many times over. They really thought that this was a well thought out, and organized trip. Thank YOU all, at Grand Lodge, for doing such a remarkable job of organizing this. I made many comments during the trip at how well organized, and how thoughtful you were, with all the small details that were taken care of.
Being thanked for their service, especially by the public AT the memorial, made the veterans' whole trip. Many veterans said that having people come up, shake their hands, and say "thank you for what you did for us and our country" meant the world to them, and they were surprised at the number of people who did so, including "all the young folks".
Both pilots made a special announcement, current military members we met, high-schoolers, the general public....ALL went out of their way to give a heart-felt "Thank you". What an honor to be involved, and what a way to honor these brave men!
Thank you all for the service YOU'VE done in honoring these gentlemen, and thank you for letting me be a part of this!
Wil Smith, Irvine Valley Lodge #671 |
