Avon Lake Woman's Honor Flight Inspires Her to Pay it Forward

When World War II veteran Pat Black, who served in WWII as a Pharmacists Mate, had an opportunity to participate in an Honor Flight in summer of 2010, she didn’t hesitate.

“It was a wonderful, wonderful thing and I’ll never forget it,” Black, an Avon Lake resident since 1928, said.

Recently, Black showed her appreciation of the experience by sponsoring another Avon Lake woman, Kathy Leopold, to be a guardian on a 2011 flight.

Honor flights, sponsored by Honor Flight Cleveland, are free-of-charge trips to Washington, D.C. that allow veterans to visit war memorials with chaperones, who pay their own way. The one-day trips begin with an early flight to Baltimore where veterans are greeted by members of the Navy in dress whites.

Currently, the Cleveland flights are only serving World War II veterans.

From Baltimore, veterans and their chaperones--such as Leopold—a former Avon Laker and a military mom,—board an air-conditioned bus and head over to the memorials.

“You go to all the memorials; the wall, Iwo Jima, the Korean War Memorial,” Leopold said. “We spend time wheeling them around.”

That also includes time at the WWII Memorial, where Black was particularly impressed. She received a folder with WW II information, and took photos from a complimentary camera the veterans received, sharing pictures and the folder’s contents with other veterans in Cleveland who couldn’t make the trip.

Following a complimentary lunch, Black’s group went to Korean Memorial.

“You could just see them trudging through the mud, the expression on their faces,” Black said of the life-sized green statues of soldiers.

Last year, Black, who served for three years providing medical assistance in the operating rooms during the war, was one of two people in her group selected to place a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

When she returned to Avon Lake that evening, she said she couldn’t sleep.

“I was so jazzed up,” she said. “There was so much to think about.”

She was not the only Avon Lake resident to go. Avon Lake veterans Ruth and Bill Higgins were on the same flight as Black last year. 

Paying it forward

Treasuring the once-in-a-lifetime trip, Black decided to “pay it forward.” When she learned Leopold, a mother of a Marine was considering her third trip, she volunteered to pay for her airline ticket.

“I learned about the honor flights at a 2009 Lake Erie Crushers game,” Leopold said. “I was at game helping the USO and found out about the honor flights.”

Leopold signed up and was trained on using a wheelchair. She was put on a guardian list and was selected in 2009 and 2010 to participate.

Honor flights are scheduled the third Wednesday of every month from May through October. And while Cleveland honor flights are free for veterans, the 20 guardians, such as Leopold, pay for their Southwest Airline tickets.

Black told Leopold that should she make a third flight, she would pay for her airline ticket.

"I took her up on it,” Loepold, who made her third flight in June, said.

To learn more about the non-profit honor flights or make a donation, visit Honor Flight Cleveland.