Local veteran honored with D.C. visit
November 11, 2023 | By Lisa ScagliottiToday is Veterans Day. The public is invited at 11 a.m. to Rusty Parker Memorial Park in downtown Waterbury where members of the Waterbury American Legion Post No. 59 will hold a brief ceremony to honor local U.S. veterans for their service.
Veteran Bob Jones of Waterbury visited Washington, D.C., on a trip with the organization Honor Flight New England in September. Courtesy photo
This September, U.S. Army veteran Robert Jones of Waterbury Center donned his service uniform for the first time in decades.
The occasion was a special one – Jones was one of three Vermont U.S. service veterans invited to make a trip to Washington, D.C. with the nonprofit organization, Honor Flight New England.
The group of 60 veterans, each accompanied by a family member or friend, flew to the nation’s capital for a busy schedule of visiting monuments dedicated to veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War along with the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the National Mall and the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.
The all-expense paid trip is what Honor Flight does, according to Joseph Byron, founder of the New Hampshire-based organization.
On this September trip, four veterans in the group had served in World War II, 14 in Korea and the remainder served in Vietnam, he noted.
Byron said the nonprofit organizes and runs the trips to “show America's most senior heroes that America has not forgotten their sacrifice and to provide family and community members with an opportunity to serve those who so bravely served them.”
Jones, 88, was selected for his seniority, Byron said, and his son Darrin accompanied him for the journey.
A U.S. Army veteran, Jones served four year in the Korean War and 16 years afterward in the National Guard as a medic. Jones is a member of the Waterbury American Legion Post No. 59 and was a founding member of Waterbury Ambulance Service. His served 50 years on the Waterbury Fire Department as well as the ski patrol at Bolton.
Bob Jones with son Darrin during their travels to Washington, D.C. Courtesy photo
Organizers of the trip said Jones was the only veteran in uniform, including his original dog tags.
Honor Flight New England joined the national organization Honor Flight Network in 2009. Through donations, it transports veterans to Washington D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials at no cost to the veteran or their families.
Byron said the priority is given to the most senior veterans and those with terminal illness. The group estimates that there are currently fewer than 200,000 surviving World War II veterans of the 16 million that served, with close to 200 passing away each day.
“Honor Flight New England has learned a lot over the years, most notably that our veteran heroes aren’t asking for recognition. It is our position that they deserve it. Our program is just a small token of our appreciation for those that gave so much,” the organization says on its website.
More information is online at honorflightnewengland.org.