COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - The lives of more than a thousand veterans have been changed in the past year thanks in large part to the work of a well-known Midlands businessman who wanted to give back to his community.
He's the man ultimately at the controls of the Honor Flight program here in the Midlands. Bill Dukes received an award Thursday for his efforts in helping 1,4000 veterans see the World War II Memorial.
"Then he shook my hands with me and thanked me for my service and that's just the way the day was. Bill has planned five of these trips in Columbia and another one coming and it's the most wonderful thing that a World War II veteran can experience," said veteran Jim Mackalvin.
"I feel very humbled," said Dukes of the honor. "I was shocked and probably the most gratifying thing to me was to be in the midst again of the World War II veterans."
The program pays for men and women who fought in World War II to fly to Washington DC and tour the memorial in their name.
"So we are really accomplishing several things," said Dukes. "We're allowing them to see the memorial. The memorial allows them with their fellow comrades to emotionally experience and recall and bring some closure to their pent up fears and then what we do and I think the most touching is when when we come back to Columbia and 200 or more people are there at the airport to meet them and they get their hero's welcome home that they never received."
The year-old program has taken off with seven flights so far and raising $60,000 each time.
"It has been successful beyond my dreams and expectations for the first year and it gives me a lot of hope for 2010," said Dukes.
"He was well-deserving," said Mackalvin "What a wonderful man he is and what a wonderful service for World War II vets he's doing."
The next Honor Flight is scheduled to take off in April of next year.
