Veterans who took the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., Wednesday, visit the Air Force Memorial.

The veterans who traveled on the Brushy Creek Honor Flight Wednesday were showered with appreciation for their military service.

Everywhere that the veterans stopped, there were young students.

And there were many stories of young people approaching the veterans of the Brushy Creek Honor Flight and shaking their hands, thanking the men for their service and even taking pictures with them.

Those gestures of respect meant everything.

More than 100 veterans, and the six flags representing the men who died before they could take the trip, departed Fort Dodge early Wednesday morning enroute to Dulles International Airport just outside Washington, D.C.

Prior to departing, Webster City resident Ron Dean talked about his service in the Army from 1968 to 70.

Dean is not a Vietnam veteran; he described himself as a Cold War veteran, spending 17 months in Germany at a United Nations facility where nuclear warheads were stored and transported.

“You were always on duty, 24-7, 365 days,” Dean said. “And instead of defensive, it was preemptive. It was the preparation for possible nuclear attack. It was a different type of duty.

“But coming back from Germany and finishing my tour of duty with the Army in 1970, it was just like the guys from Vietnam coming into an airport. If you had a uniform on, you were a target for protests and all kinds of those things. Even before I left Germany, they told me, in your duffle bag have some civilian clothes on top. When you get your plane ticket, you can get out of your uniform and put on civilian clothes. This is really my welcome home from service in the Army.”

About the Honor Flight he said, “It’s a really great thing. Actually it took a little convincing from the Veterans Administration Service officer that I should even apply because, personally, I didn’t go through the turmoil that a lot of these other guys did. It was interesting to me. I’ve always said about my experience in the Army, I wouldn’t give you a million dollars for it. I wouldn’t take a million dollars to go back through it.”

At Dulles, children with parents waved flags and held up signs expressing gratitude.

A violin trio serenaded the veterans.

There were handshakes and hugs.

The first stop was the National Mall to visit the Korean War Veterans, Lincoln and the Vietnam Veterans memorials.

There were 112 Vietnam War-era vets on the trip. They scanned the wall looking for friends who lost their lives in Vietnam, or perhaps someone from their hometown.

Dennis Campbell, an Air Force veteran from Dougherty, did a name rubbing of the name Daniel Kaplan. Kaplan was many years older than Campbell. In fact, Campbell said he had been an altar boy serving at Kaplan’s funeral.

During a brown bag lunch, the bus took a short downtown tour, driving past the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Museum, the U.S. Capital and the White House, among others.

There were no World War II veterans on the trip, but at the World War II Memorial many of the veterans had their photos taken in front of the Iowa pillar. It was there that Roger Oakes, of Milo, talked about his service. He was drafted into the Army in 1968 and served 32 months in Vietnam until his term was done in 1970. He worked in transportation out in the field.

“It was horrible. Really wasn’t prepared for what I was getting into. But I was just doing what I had to do to serve the country,” he said.

“This trip here means the world to me. I’ve always wanted to do this. This is just terrific. It’s one of the best experiences I’ve had.”

Speaking about his return from Vietnam back in 1970, Oakes said, “For several, several years, even in my hometown, people just didn’t trust you. They called you baby killers, you know, druggies and whatever. I left Iowa in 1970 and went to Mexico for 15 years, and down in Mexico they didn’t really care who you were. Even the people in the federal government, when you’d go down to the federal building, they were, even in 1970, against us.”

At Arlington National Cemetery, the next stop, the entourage witnessed the solemn Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Lee Bailey, Craig Malloy and Orene Cressler, staff members of the Brushy Creek Honor Flight Committee, laid a wreath on the Tomb afterwards.

Gregory Peck, an Army medic who served from 1971-73 in Hawaii, spoke of his time working in an Army hospital during the Vietnam War. He said that patients who couldn’t make it back to the states due to the severity of their injuries would be brought to the hospital where he was serving. He spoke of the terrible sufferings of the wounded.

One thing struck him in particular: the wounded always cried out for their mothers, never their fathers.

From Arlington the veterans made a brief stop at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, also known as the Iwo Jima Monument, for group pictures before the final stop of the day at the Air Force Memorial.

It was there that Army veteran Dennis Lauer spoke about his service. He carried the M60 machine gun along with a 45 pistol. They would set up during the daytime and then move out at night to observe. He said that he did have a buddy from Washington, D.C., who was killed and whose name is on the Vietnam Wall.

“It was really kind of a shame. I went back over there in 2015. There were 20 of us that went back. It was really disappointing in a way, because when you go up that Highway 1 there were several military people, Communist you know, controlling things and to think we went over there and put all those names on the Wall for absolutely nothing and that was pretty damned disappointing.”

Lauer said later, referring to the Honor Flight, “It was sad. But they were real good to us here. We were received real good.”

On the flight back the veterans chatted. But their day was not quite over. As the Sun Country jet landed on the runway in Fort Dodge, the veterans received a huge welcome home.

There was an Honor Guard to receive the flags of the deceased, which were then presented to the waiting families, and two long lines of flags.

Veterans from Hamilton County pose for a photo at the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial. They are, from left, Lloyd Martin, of Webster City; Michael Gordon, of rural southern Hamilton County; Billie Shelton, of Stratford; and Ronald Dean, of Jewell. Not pictured is Jim Talbot, of Webster City.

And there was a large crowd of family and friends and people they didn’t know.

As the veterans departed the plane, their names were announced.

And in those moments, some of them experienced an appreciation that was been long overdue.