After having to cancel two earlier Flights, on Nov. 4, 2009 I participated in the third one. It was a busy 36 hours with very little sleep, but truly an unforgetable experience for 330 "ancient ones" from WW II. We registered at the Airport Holiday Inn in Des Moines the afternoon of the 3rd. There would be 11 buses, color coded, with 30 Vets to a bus plus several support people. I was assigned to the Silver bus. At 5:00 that evening there was a dinner for Vets and wives at the HyVee Corp. complex in W.D.M.

At 2:30 AM on the 4th there was a complimentary breakfast for us. Each bus was assigned an area . About 4:00 we started loading the buses to take us to the plane. At 5:00 we loaded the 747 for a 6:30 take off. Landed at Dulles Airport about 10:00, and once again loaded onto buses to start a day of sightseeing at several Memorials significant to the Military History of our country.

First stop was the WW II Memorial where we were supposed to spend and hour an half, but for some reason we only had an hour. Then on to the Iwo Jima Memorial. From there it was Arlington Nat'l. Cemetery. We got there in time to watch the 4:00 changing of the guard. Then on to the Korean Memorial and from there it was walking distance to the Viet Nam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. By this time it had become overcast and was getting on the dark side. The light was not conducive to good photographs, but the Nikon D40 did pretty well. I did not go in the Lincoln Memorial, but did get a twilight shot of the building.

Once again we boarded the buses to head back to Dulles and board the 747 for the flight back to Des Moines, There were a lot of sleeping "ancient ones" on the way home. Arrived D.M. about 10:30, back on the buses, and arrived Holiday Inn 11:00 - right on schedule. I will try to add the album of Honor Flight photographs to my site.

I Have made seperate folders of my WW II photograhs, "The Lighter Side", "The Heavier Side", "From Up Over To Down Under". These cover the good times, the bad times and the every day times. I have decided to add one more folder "The Last Six Months". Of my 48 months in the Air Force, only 11 months were spent in the States. Six of them after my return from the S.W. Pacific. With out a doubt they were the best six months. Reconecting with family and friends after a 3-1/2 year absence; and best of all - finding that CAA Radio Operator at Page Field.

At the Redistribution Center one question on a questionere was to list 3 bases I would like to be reassigned to. Having been raised in the Dakotas, and having just spent 3 years in the tropics I was anxious to get back to my natural habitat. My 3 choices were all along the Canadian border. Sure am glad Uncle Sam didn't heed my desire.

I was recently advised by my friend "Yankeedog" that there had been a change in how you could arrange "Galleries". That you could now seperate your "deviations" into different folders (albums). I have taken advantage of this new system. My Color Pictorials of our Western States are still my featured ones. But I have put my recent trip into Colorado's High Country during a snow storm in a seperate folder. I have also seperated my WW II B&W photos into three seperate folders: "The Lighter Side of War" - "The Heavier Side of War" and "From Up Over To Down Under And Back" The last one being a pictorial record of my four years in WW II, the times and places.

It is my hope that the WW II folders will give some of the younger visitors to the site a little better understanding of what the freedoms they enjoy today cost so many 60 - 65 years ago. It's the old story "Freedom is not Free". I recently ran into two instances -one with with college students, one with high school students - who had no idea of the significance of Pearl Harbor. In one case they didn't even know where it is. Unfortuneately there are not too many of us left to tell about it. Of the 16.2 million that served in WW II there are only about 2.9 million left, and dying at the rate of 12 to 15 hundred a day. Won't be long and there will be no more eye witnesses left to the greatest armed conflict in the history of man kind - or, to be politically correct - woman kind.

It has been a while since I checked the site. Since my last visit I have recieved some feedback. Especially since Evan McMasters featured my Galery on his Journal. There have been suggestions that I add more photos to my Gallery. Even one that I write a book. My WW II album consists of 183 pages containing 526 photographs. They cover a time span from Aug. 29, 1941 to Sept. 5, 1945; and spread from a small town in Eastern S. Dak. to large cities and small towns in Australia, bases in the jungles of New Guinea, the beaches of the Phillipines and back to a P-51 training base in Fla. That would be a lot of photographs to add to my Gallery.

What I have done, recently, is put them on a CD-R. Also added a WW II history of my old outfit the 3rd Bomb. Gp., aka 3rd Attack Gp. aka "The Grim Reapers". Plus my Memoirs of my four years in WW II. I don't know if it is legal to hawk one's wares on this website, it it isn't I expect I will find out. For anybody tat might beinterested log onto the following link for details:
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Jack Heyn

Having recieved some positive feedback from my images on my "Gallery" and encouragement from my mentor, yankeedog, I decided to add to it. Increasing the number of WW II photos. Just one problem with the way the Gallery is set up; the first come last and the last come first. Doesn't make any difference with pictorials, but it did with the WW II Photos. The photos showing the end of my four year hitch in WW II are at the begining of the Journal, the photos from the begining are at the end. Oh well, such is life.

Since I've had a camera in my hand since I was 16 years old, and pictorials have always been my first love; and since I have a collection of over 600 images from my four years in WW II - I could continue adding for quite a while. But I wouldn't want to wear out my welcome, so this is it. I have enjoyed the experience and the feedback comments I have been getting. I would hope that they would continue to come, and I will be watching for them. Thus far I haven't made replys to the comments, might have to start doing that.
Jack Heyn