Missing WWII Soldier is Identified

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from World War II, have been identified and are being returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Army Pfc. James C. Konyud, of Cleveland, will be buried on Sept. 25 in his hometown. From mid-September 1944 to early February 1945, the Army was engaged against German forces in the Hürtgen Forest, along the Germany/Belgium border, in the longest continuously fought battle in American history. In early January 1945, elements of the 121st Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division were deployed defensively in the area southeast of Aachen. Konyud, a member of K Company, 121st Infantry Regiment, was reported missing near the location on Jan. 1.

In 2007, a German explosive ordnance disposal team working in an agricultural field between Vossenack and Hürtgen, found human remains and military-related equipment, including Konyud's military identification tag. The remains and items were turned over to Army Memorial Affairs Activity-Europe officials for further analysis.

Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) teams traveled to excavate the site twice in 2007 and once in 2008, recovering additional remains and other military-related equipment, including a second identification tag for Konyud.

Among other forensic identification tools and circumstantial evidence, scientists from JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used mitochondrial DNA, which matched that of Konyud's brother and niece, in the identification of his remains.

More than 400,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II died. At the end of the war, the U.S. government was unable to recover, identify and bury approximately 79,000 as known persons. Today, more than 72,000 Americans remain unaccounted-for from the conflict.
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Honor Flight Fayette Day Proclaimed October 8

At their September 25th meeting, the Fayette County Commissioners honored the upcoming and 2nd flight organized by Honor Flight Fayette to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., at no charge to them, to visit their memorial and share memories with their comrades in arms from that war.

Plans have been in the works for this trip literally since the return of the inaugural flight of HFF last May. Board members, guardians, medical personnel and volunteers have worked consistently to raise the necessary funds needed to make this trip a memorable one for the veterans, who will be provided with plane tickets, meals, snacks, and motor coach transportation. Also, a guardian will be assigned 2-3 veterans for the day, and their job is to make sure that each and every need of the vets is being met.

The public is encouraged to participate in this exciting day by either seeing the veterans off at 7:00 a.m., or welcoming them back about 10:00 that evening at the Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. The veterans from the May trip were very touched by those who came out to honor them, in their own community, by cheering and waving flags and banners.

As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization led by a dedicated board of directors, Honor Flight Fayette is committed to this labor of love and determination to take as many veterans as possible as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we are losing these brave men and women at a rate of over 1,400 per day, so time is definitely of the essence. And we must ask ourselves, "at what cost did they secure my freedoms and how can I repay them?"

If you would like to know more about this organization or make a donation toward the next flight, please visit honorflightfayette.org or call 770-719-1024.

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World War II Veterans Eager to Take Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

Photo: (l-r) James Watkins, Emory Holbrook and Ed Travis.

An Air Tran flight tentatively scheduled for May 14th is awaiting the three World War II veterans pictured and other veterans from Fayette County. This first Honor Flight Fayette is full and applications are being taken for the next flight as this is only the first of many planned flights for these veterans we are losing at the rate of 1,200 to 1,500 per day. The only thing keeping our veterans from their Memorial, that took over 60 years to come to fruition is the lack of funds at present. However, the organizers of this project are confident that the citizens and businesses of Fayette County will want to help honor these men and women who made possible many of the freedoms we take for granted today.

Honor Flight Fayette, part of the national honor flight organization, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) which is staffed only by volunteers, and which was created solely to honor America's World War II veterans for all their sacrifices by flying them to Washington, D.C. for a one day trip to visit and reflect at their memorial with their comrades in arms from this and other areas.

This trip is free to the veterans and is funded only by donations. Their day will begin in Fayetteville with Honor Flight Fayette t-shirts and a big send-off at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church. Exciting events are planned and everyone is invited to come and participate in this memorable event. After a ride to the Atlanta Airport in local church and other buses, special attention and speed will be given to them through the security lines so they can board their flight with a minimum of inconvenience and time.

There will be a Doctor, EMT's, and a Nurse on this flight. Also aboard will be "Guardians" who will pay for their own ticket at a cost of $300, and will be responsible for 1-3 veterans. Each guardian to veteran ratio will depend on the need of the veteran, which is the primary focus of this trip. The goal is to make this trip as special as possible for these men and women.
Once they arrive in the Capitol, they will be seated in motor coaches and taken to the World War II Memorial. Once there they will be provided with a tent, drinks and lunch depending upon the time they are assigned to see the Memorial. Time permitting, a tour will be taken through Arlington Cemetery.

Upon arriving back in Fayetteville, they will receive gifts to memorialize their day because many of these veterans have said little, if at all, about their experiences during this war. They simply considered it was an honor and a duty to serve their country and expect no recognition for their sacrifices.

If you would like to donate to this very worthy cause, please go to honorflightfayette.org where you will find forms for veterans, guardians and volunteers. Also listed is information on donating to a cause where the only ones who will benefit "free of cost" for this trip are the veterans. However, we must ask ourselves, "AT WHAT COST DID THEY SECURE MY FREEDOM AND HOW CAN I REPAY THEM".
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First Honor Flight Fayette to go on May 14, 2008

Gail Sparrow, a co-founder of Honor Flight Fayette (HFF), reported the good news that the first flight of WWII Vets to Washington DC is scheduled on May 14, 2008. She said we would assemble near the Fayette County Courthouse, probably in a church parking lot of one of the churches in the area. From that moment on everything is taken care of by HFF until we are returned to this same assembly point. WWII Vets will need no money except for souvenirs that may want to purchase. Gail and Brenda Smith, Publicity Chairperson, attended the regular monthly meeting of VFW Post 9949 on January 10, 2008 at the Gathering Place in Peachtree City.

Among those assembled were 8 VFW Post 9949 members who are WWII Vets and registered to go. There were also 2 members of the Kiwanis Club of Peachtree City Golden K in attendance, who are WWII Vets and delivered their applications to go to Washington. Gail said she had 61 applications from WWII Vets when she came; she received 3 more Vets plus 1 Guardian application. In a Friday conversation Gail said she received 3 more application; there are enough now to fill the first flight. She has EMT's and possibly a Doctor for this first flight. We are flying on commercial flights between Hartsfield and Reagan International Airport. There are a lot of fine details to be worked out. For those of you going or are questioning whether your WWII Vet is able to go I recommend you visit the National site at http://www.honorflight.org/.

There you will find a listing of frequently asked questions that will help you with questions about wheelchairs and oxygen needs as you try to decide if your beloved WWII Vet is able to handle the trip. It will be a very long day probably close to 12 hours or more. Remember there are possible hour + naps on the flights each way. You could also grab a couple of quick naps on the busses. My personal view is that you should send in an application as soon as possible just in case you are ruled able to travel; if you delay you will find yourself way down on a list that will go on the basis of first received, first to go. If your name comes up and you can't go on the next flight, your name will slip down to the top for the succeeding flight. The National site will tell you that over 60 VETS who were signed to go have passed while waiting for their name to come to the top of the list. My guess is that before this first flight leaves there will be a waiting list approaching 300 or more on the Fayette County list.. Gail said she will Post on the local site the list of VETS going on the May 14th flight at http://www.honorflightfayette.org/

This program started in May 2005 and the first group of 12 WWII Vets flew in on 6 small private planes. The trip was just a week before the first anniversary of the WWII Memorial Dedication Ceremony that was held on May 29, 2004. Another document on the National site said 891 had traveled by the end of 2006. In 2007 the goal was to fly 5000 Vets to Washington. Flights are scheduled from mid-April through early November to avoid cold weather and possible flight delays. When the program started only the site in Dayton, Ohio existed. As of now 27 local chapters exist including 3 in Georgia. If the 2007 goal was met about 6000 have been transported. That sounds like a big number and it is, but I calculate that there are around 2,200,000 living WWII Vets today. From my sample of WWII Vets in Post 9949 only about 60% or around 1,300,000 are able and wanting to go. So if you could get the visits up to 100,000 a year, it would take 13 years to get everyone there. One problem is WWII Vets are dying at the rate of 1200 per day or roughly 450,000 a year. The youngest WWII Vets in our Post are 79 years old. A very small % of us will live beyond 95 years. My goal is to celebrate 100 years.

I've included two photos; one showing the Honor Flight Fayette spokespersons (Gail Sparrow and Brenda Smith) in front of the VFW members and our WWII guests. The other is from the national site which shows a group picture of an Honor Flight from some unknown community. If you open it in your photo program and zoom in you will see 19 Vets in wheelchairs and/or power scooters and 35 Vets in two rows behind the handicapped VETS. There is one female Vet in the grouping. Also at the right end of the grouping you will recognize former Senator Bob Dole. Look at the smiles on most of these faces. If you think you can't go and said no to going, look again and say I can make it and I will smile just as these handicapped Vets are doing.

So we have a schedule and a few optimists who say we can and will get the funds from individuals, businesses, service clubs, and entrepreneurs to pay for the free trips. If you want to contribute make your checks to Honor Flight Foudation of Fayette, Inc. a 502(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization. Donations are 100% deductible. Mail to Honor Flight Foundation of Fayette, Inc., P.O Box 1209, Fayetteville, GA 30214.. VFW Post 9949 voted to donate $2100.00,which would cover about 7 of our WWII Vets who are going. Donations of $35.00 or more will result in your name and your honoree being on the web site and you may make the donation in honor of family members or friends who are unable to visit the memorial.

My Comrades from WWII please make this trip if you possibly can- yes for you who are handicapped and have several health problems it will tire you out but it will be an experience that wont regret.. I bet that most of the 1200 WWII Vets who are dying every day had a fond hope of seeing the Memorial erected to honor and remember their sacrifices that insured the great liberties we all enjoy.

Bob Konrad,

An Update on Honor Flight Fayette For All WWII Veterans

Peachtree City VFW Post 9949 invites all WWII Veterans in the area to our regular monthly meeting to receive an update on the status of free day flights to Washington DC to visit the National WWII Memorial. The meeting will be held in the large meeting room in the Gathering Place at 7:00 PM on Thursday January 10, 2008.

The organizers of honor flight fayette, Gail Sparrow and Mark Buckner will provide an update on the program and answer individual questions. This presentation will be first on the agenda. Afterwards Post 9949 Comrades will cover our regular meeting agenda.

All WWII Veterans who served overseas earned eligibility to join the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.and are cordially invited to visit our meeting and consider joining our Post. No you are not to old to join the VFW. The oldest recruit we have installed was 1 day short of his 93rd birthday. He was undoubtedly our proudest and happiest member in our Post. 37 of our 140 members are WWII Vets.

We have 15 WWII Vets over 85 years and another 22 who are between 79 and 84. We expect to have 20 members visit the Memorial. On Tuesday Gail said she had 61 reservations on hand.

I hope that many of you who are not WWII Vets will contribute funds to this great cause and make it possible for these heroes to visit their memorial in the twilight of their lives.

Bob Konrad, Quartermaster
Peachtree City VFW Post 9949
WWII US Navy Vet