World War II Veterans, ex-POW James Trout and White House guard James Butcher, set out from the Evanston Airport on May 18 to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C. with Honor Flight Wyoming. They both said they would recommend the trip to all veterans. HERALD PHOTOS/Becky Crum

World War II veterans James Trout and James Butcher were the first two Uinta County veterans to participate in the Honor Flight Wyoming trips to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C.

Trout and Butcher left Cheyenne Tuesday morning and spent two days and one night in the U.S. capital city, where they received a chance to see the WWII Memorial that was dedicated in honor of WWII veterans like themselves.

“It was quite an experience. I would recommend it to all veterans who are eligible to go. It was well worth it,” Butcher said.

Butcher, who was a White House guard during WWII, said things have changed a lot in Washington D.C. since he was there. He said when he first heard about the trip, he wasn’t interested. He said that after he talked about it, it seemed more interesting and he thought it would be a good thing to do.

“A couple of times, I just about decided I wouldn’t go due to my wife’s health and one thing or another. But she insisted that I go. When I realized I was really going, I got excited about it. Now that I’ve been on the trip, I would encourage any veteran to go and any young person to volunteer to be a guardian,” Butcher said.

Trout, who was a POW during WWII, said that the trip meant a lot to him although he too had second thoughts about going.

“When I first heard I was chosen to go, I nearly changed my mind. I almost didn’t go. I can’t explain what this trip meant to me. I’m glad I went. I had a wonderful time,” Trout said.

Uinta County Veteran Service Officer Nellie Richins said Butcher and Trout are friends and when they heard they were both chosen, that’s when they said, “Let’s do it.”

Calvin Chapman of Evanston was the guardian for his dad, Alvin Chapman from LaBarge. He was also assigned to be the guardian for Butcher and Trout.

“We joked with him and called him our Man Friday and yellow jacket,” Butcher said and laughed. He said that the guardians wore yellow jackets and the veterans wore white.

In the air

The Angel Flight Network, a non-profit corporation, flew 110 Wyoming veterans and 40 guardians to Cheyenne on May 18.

Butcher and Trout said the pilots gave them a scenic trip across Wyoming.

“We saw things that we would never have gotten to see if we weren’t in that airplane. The pilots made the beginning and the end of the whole trip more memorable,” Trout said.

Butcher said that the scenery was amazing and the pilots were very nice to them.

“I never realized how beautiful Wyoming is in those bare hills until I got to fly over them,” Butcher said.

On Wednesday morning they were taken to the Taco Johns’s Event Center for breakfast and received speeches from Gov. Dave Freudenthal and other dignitaries from the Air Force and National Guard. They were given a WWII veteran hat, a T-shirt and a fanny pack with a camera and granola bar.

Richins said the roads were blocked as fire trucks, military vehicles, the patriot motorcycle group and police vehicles escorted the motorcade to the Cheyenne Airport. She said the streets were lined with flag wavers and people cheering and clapping for the honorees.

Richins said the crew on the Sun Country plane was wonderful. Sun Country is a chartered plane and subsidiary of Continental Airlines out of Minnesota.

“Every time the pilot had to check with the radio towers as we flew across the country, he would give an announcement to the veterans from that tower. For instance, he would say ‘Best wishes from the Denver airport’ or ‘Congratulations from Minneapolis, St. Paul airport.’ It was wonderful, he just kept coming on the radio and giving them messages from all over,” Richins said.

“When we arrived at the airport, there were police and military people everywhere helping us up the stairs and through the airport to get on our plane,” Butcher said.

Butcher said the guardians did a beautiful job of taking care of them. He said they didn’t have to worry about a thing.

“They gave us our boarding passes and our seats were already assigned to us. I thought it was nice they assigned us the same seat coming back as we had when we left to go to Washington. We made history on that flight. Older people are just like a herd of sheep. When one has to go to the bathroom, they all have to go. The line was long and they made history because while they were standing in the line, the airplane flew over 100 miles,” Butcher said and laughed.

During an honorees’ dinner, each veteran received a WWII memorial book and an engraved beveled glass plaque as a lasting reminder of the sacrifice they made with their military service.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney gave a speech to the veterans that evening at dinner. After his speech, he made his way around the room and mingled with all the veterans. Other dignitaries that welcomed the veterans to Washington D.C were Wyoming Senators Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, U. S. Representative Cynthia Lummis and Wyoming State Auditor Rita Meyer.



The Memorial

Richins said on the long bus drive to the WWII memorial they showed a video about the history of the monument.

She said they had 40 wheelchairs on the bus, although only six of their veterans were confined to wheelchairs.

Richins said about six million soldiers fought in WWII, so it was impossible to list all the names on the memorial. She said they have a pillar for every state and the U.S. territories. She said they have a wall of stars and every star represents 100 soldiers that didn’t make it home from the war. She said there were 4,000 stars, which represents 400,000 soldiers.

“I was surprised that no names were on the memorial. I guess I pictured it to look like the Vietnam Memorial,” Trout said.

Richins said the location of the memorial is awesome. She said that at one end there is the Lincoln Memorial and on the other end is the Washington Monument. She said the states are listed in the order they came into the Union.

She said there were eagles embossed in the ends of the Atlantic and the Pacific towers.

“When you look up and see those eagles, it just does something to you,” Trout said.



Students greet veterans

Richins said when they arrived at the memorial, the tour guide announced that there was a group of Ohio elementary students who had done fund raisers throughout the entire school year to raise money to come to Washington D.C. They had heard the first Wyoming veterans were coming to see the monument and they wanted to be there to greet them.

“The kids all had flags and posters to welcome us,” Trout said.

Butcher said that it was really something to see those kids lined up on both sides of them.

“They all wanted to shake our hands. When we reached out and shook their hands, it was like turning on a light. Those kids must have been taught American history in their school,” Butcher said.

Trout said many tourists asked who they were and what they were doing.

“When they heard who we were, they wanted to shake our hands and have their pictures taken with us,” Trout said.

Richins said they had a ceremony at the WWII memorial. She said that they brought a flag that had been draped over a WWII veterans coffin.

“It was folded in military triangle. We brought it to the Wyoming portion of the memorial to signify that we were bringing our fallen comrades — those who didn’t make the trip. We kept the flag with us the whole trip,” Richins said. Richins said they also did a laying of the wreath. She said it was a special wreath with a Wyoming flag in it. She said they put that by the Wyoming pillar.

Richins said when they boarded the tour bus to leave the monument, Senator Bob Dole came on the bus. He thanked the veterans for coming to the memorial. He said he tries not to miss many of he WWII veterans who come to Washington D.C.



A warm welcome home

Richins said when they arrived back in Cheyenne, it looked like the whole city came out to welcome the veterans home.

“That was an incredible welcome. They had posters and flags. It was 10:30 at night and Governor Freudenthal and Rita Meyer were there again. People were all coming up to us and wanted to shake our hands. It was really something,” Butcher said.

Richins said the National Guard was there and as the veterans stepped off the plane, they shook all their hands. She said the guardsmen were from the airplane to the airport and then when you walked inside, the rest of the town was there to greet them.

“It was so wonderful. It was such a good greeting. It was amazing that they did that for us,” Trout said.

Butcher said everyone was handing out flags. He said that he saw a little girl about six years old standing there handing him a flag.

“I took one of her flags and shook her hand. You should have seen the expression on her face. She was so thankful that I had taken her flag,” Butcher said.



Unforgettable memories

Butcher said he will never forget the trip to Washington D.C. He said being there as long as he was in the military it was nice to go back and see it again. He said he had memories and to go back allowed him to see changes that have taken place.

“I had a lot of memories. I got to meet Senator Bob Dole. He was in the same Division as me, so that was special. It was good to meet all those politicians and shake their hands. I shook hands so much on that trip that I believe I could become a politician. I’ll definitely never forget those kids from Ohio who came to meet us. That was really something,” Butcher said.

Butcher said that was the longest trip. He said when he left he was 89 and when he returned he was 90 years old. He returned May 21 on his 90th birthday.

Trout said it is hard for him to explain how he feels and to put it into words, but the Honor Flight trip meant a lot to him.

He said that it was one of the most wonderful experiences for him to go see the memorial.

“I watched Senator Barrasso lay the wreath on Wyoming. I saw everything. It was quite a sight. I guess I would describe it as breathtaking. I walked around the outside of the memorial. You’d be surprised at what you can see from both sides. It was a long walk around, but I wanted to see both sides of it,” Trout said.

Richins said they have seven more Uinta County veterans that are supposed to go to the memorial. She said she is still taking applications for anyone who hasn’t signed up and wants to make the trip. She said they would have a fund-raiser for Veterans Day to raise more money to send Uinta County Veterans to their memorial.