Each of the 25 Military veterans aboard this weekend’s Lake County Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., has an assigned guardian to accompany them and assist as needed while they see the memorials and other sites of the nation’s capitol.
In three situations, the guardian was the child of the veteran who served a stint in the U.S. Armed Forces between 1941 and 1975. For each, like Bruce Chudacoff of Glenview and his daughter, Tanya Solomon, of Northbrook, it added to the adventure.
“It is terrific,” Chudacoff said Friday before departing. “We have taken trips together before and it’s always a good experience. We’ve written books together and traveled to check out the places we were writing about.”
Chudacoff was among 25 former members of the U.S. Armed Forces who left North Chicago Friday for a three-day journey to see the war memorials and other sites in Washington as part of Lake County Honor Flight’s 25th trip since 2013.
John Passanante, the board president of Lake County Honor Flight, said the vets will spend three days in Washington returning Sunday. Since the inception of the free trip, 513 veterans have made the journey.
With one World War II veteran — Bernie Parker of Vernon Hills — and the others serving during the Korean War and Vietnam era, John Passanante said they range in age between 74 and 98.
“We want them to have a chance to see the memorials that honor their service,” Passanante said. “They served during World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Cold War.”
Born in Appleton, Wisconsin, Chudacoff was in the Army ROTC when he studied at the University of Michigan. He said he was commissioned a second lieutenant on graduation in 1966. Before starting active deity in 1970, he earned a law degree from Harvard University.
Though he held several positions as a lawyer in the army in 1970 and 1971, when Chudacoff was sent to Vietnam he said his job was routing B-52 bombers on their missions to their targets.
“There was no law in Vietnam,” Chudacoff said. “I got the B-52s set to attack, told the army general they were ready and he told the marine general to send them off.”
Leaving the army in 1971, Chudacoff said he practiced law in Appleton for 46 years before retiring and moving to the Chicago area to be closer to his grown family.
Friday was the first time U.S. Rep Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, attended the departure of an honor flight. He said he has welcomed the veterans home in North Chicago multiple times.
“I’ve met two veterans who were over 100 years old,” Schneider said. “I met someone today who will be 99 in August. You get to see Washington through different eyes when you see the memorials with each other.”
Parker enlisted in the U.S. Navy at 17 in 1943 and served at Pearl Harbor much of the time. He said he made the choice when he got a letter from his father who was already serving in World War II. He helped get the ships ready to go into battle and serviced them when they returned.
“He said, ‘You’re better off to enlist or you’ll be in the army,’” Parker said.
Though he had a number of jobs before purchasing the gas station, Parker said he continually followed advice from his grandmother about career choices. There had to be enjoyment and a future.
“She said, ‘if you don’t enjoy your job, find another job,’” Parker said. “There has to be something for you in the end.”
While at the sendoff Friday, Parker had the chance to reconnect with another septuagenarian — retired Libertyville Police Chief Dan McCormick. They reminisced about earlier days in Libertyville.
Cindy Duenas, McCormick’s daughter, is his guardian on the trip. She said McCormick served in the army between 1953 and 1956 before eventually climbing ranks as a police officer.
“I am so excited to be doing this with my father,” Duenas said.
Mike Steiner of Grayslake is going on the trip as Parker’s guardian. Steiner served in the Navy from 1982 to 1986. Though he is not eligible to go on the honor flight yet as a vet, he found another way to do it. He also spent several months getting to know Parker.
“He’s; amazing,” Steiner said. “Look at him. You can’t believe he’s 98. He looks better than people I know in their 70s.”
Another parent-child duo on the trip are Jim Moran, Jr., who enlisted in the Navy in 1959 after finishing high school, and his son, Jim Moran, III, the assistant village administrator of Antioch.
Upon leaving the Navy in 1961, Moran, Jr., graduated from the University of Minnesota and had a long career in sales before retiring at 65. He said he and his wife got involved with the honor flight organization. He finally decided he was ready for the trip himself.
“I’m really glad my son is my guardian,” Moran said. “I had felt there were other guys more deserving. As I learned more about it, I decided it was time to go.”
