By THOMAS A. KVAMME

Special to the Herald

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Honor is something that needs to be earned.

More than 60 years ago brave men and women answered their nation’s call, only to be almost forgotten.

While this comes a bit late, the effort is sincere as the Roughrider Honor Flight is working hard to see that these veterans will never be forgotten, with the second flight touching down in Washington, D.C., on Friday. A committee of volunteers has vowed to allow for every World War II veteran in the state an opportunity to travel to this location to view the National Memorial, which was erected in their honor.

Private funds have been raised to allow the veterans to experience all this at no cost.

A large delegation from the Williston area was a part of this flight as 27 veterans boarded a charter bus, provided by Williston State College and the WSC Foundation, for a trip to Bismarck to meet with more than 60 state veterans.

At noon on Thursday the bus was led through downtown Williston with law enforcement taking part in the escort, while being joined by the Williston Fire Department.

In addition, members of the Wind and Fire Smoke Hogs were joined by members of the local Patriot Guard to provide a motorcycle unit.

While departing Williston residents and students, waving flags, lined the streets to show support for the veterans.

That support was present in Ray and Tioga as well, as the veterans were met by color guards and students, waving flag and cheering them on.

At the same time,area veterans jumped on board along the way, to be a part of the weekend outing.

The veterans took time to shake hands and receive encouragement before traveling on.

En route to Bismarck, the delegation was treated to pie and coffee, along with an evening meal compliments of Williston businessmen Roger Cymbaluk of Basin Brokers, John Kasmer of Kamser/Aafedt and Greg Hennessy of Hennessy Law Firm.

That was only the beginning of the special treatment that lay ahead.

An early wakeup call on Friday meant getting back on the bus, only to find a group of more than 20 motorcycles in place as the Patriot Guard of Bismarck served as an escort to the airport.

Once at the airport, volunteers tended to the bags while the veterans began checking in.

Gov. John Hoeven worked his way through the waiting line to board the charter aircraft and worked his way through the entire plane wishing the veterans well, while thanking them on behalf of the state of North Dakota.

Once in the air, volunteers and medical staff on board tended to all the needs of this precious cargo.

Upon landing at Dulles Airport another surprise was in store as two airport fire trucks were positioned to provide a water arch as a welcome.

As the veterans deplaned they were greeting by blaring music and cheers as volunteers lined the isle to greet each and every veteran.

Among the greeters was Tim Hecker, Belfield, who is stationed in the Washington, D.C., area, serving in the U.S. Army.

Now it was time to be whisked off to three buses for a short trip to view the Lincoln Memorial, along with the Vietnam and the Korea memorials.

While this was taking place volunteers tended to wheelchair needs and provided plenty of water on a very humid day.

Back on the bus veterans were given a V-Mail, what was known back then as Victory Mail.

These happened to be letters from children in the Bismarck area who penned their thoughts to be shared with the veterans.

This fast-paced adventure led the delegation to the Hyatt Regency, where they had the comforts of home and then some.

After a brief period to get refreshed, it was time to gather for the evening banquet, with Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) paying a special visit to address the crowd.

Sen. Conrad was followed by Stephen R. Brown, a famed photographer who had access to the entire building of the WWII National and captured the process leading to his publication of his book, Jewel of the Mall.

A highlight of the evening was several WWII veterans wearing their service uniforms to the banquet with Cliff Havorson,White Earth, decked out in his full Army uniform.

Halvorson, 89, is one of the many decorated veterans being honored.

During his service time, Halvorson earned the Silver Star, Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, two Bronze Stars and the ETO Ribbon with three campaign stars.

His is but one of the stories of these heroes.

On the charter flight we had the pleasure to be seated across from Duane Robey, Bismarck.

Robey spent his time in the Army in Europe with the 104th Division and after 71 days he stepped on a land mine while rushing a German machine gun position.

As luck would have it, he was hit again and the end result was him losing his left leg.

His outstanding effort earned him a Purple Heart and three Bronze Stars.

Robey wasn’t about to let the loss of his leg dictate his future as he adjusted and went on with his life, to retire from teaching.

Along the way he earned three college degrees, including his Master’s.

Now, 61 years later, he is being honored for his heroics.

While turning through the pages of a book listing highlights of the military careers, Fred Eberle, Williston, is one that stands out.

Eberle was in the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army and served in six countries in the European Theater.

He escaped injury even though his unit saw 531 days of combat, the second most of all the American units.

Eberle was also part of four D-Day landings, serving as a radio operator in an artillery unit.

Wally Herreid, Williston, is another person with an impressive war record.

While he was onboard a transport ship, the Leopoldvile, a German torpedo ripped through the ship, leading to 14 officers and 748 enlisted men losing their lives.

As the ship was sinking, Herreid was able to jump to a small harbor vessel, only to spend Christmas morning helping to pick up the bodies of his fallen comrades.

While serving in combat with the U.S. Army, Herreid was awarded a Battle Star, Combat Infantryman’s Badge and a Bronze Star.

These are but a few samplings of the group making this Roughrider Honor Flight.

Need we say more?

Going overboard to salute this outstanding group of Americans is not out of line and the time is now for everyone to get on board to support the effort.