Teen Shares Honor Flight With WWII Vet

Peter Schumejda, 17, is a junior at Riverhead High School with a penchant for history.

Last weekend, history came vividly alive as the student, along with Riverhead resident Louise Wilkinson, took part in an Honor Flight Long Island experience that changed his life.

Honor Flight is a a non-profit organization created to honor America's veterans that flies scores of vets to Washington, DC for free to visit memorials. 

Peter and Wilkinson both signed on to volunteer as guardians through Southampton Town's involvement with the program and headed to Washington, DC last weekend -- an experience both said was life-changing.

"It was great," Peter said. Paired up with Robert Jackson, 86, Peter said the experience was personal, especially because his mother is a nurse practitioner who works with veterans. "An overwhelming amount of people were thanking the veterans for what they did 70 years ago."

Crowds of people turned out in Washington to say thank you as the veterans toured the monuments, Peter said. "It felt just amazing -- they finally got to see what was dedicated to them. To see the look on their faces," he said.

The time is now, Peter said, to bring veterans to see the memorials. "They're a dying breed," he said. "They're not getting any younger. It's great to have them going now, to actually see the monuments before they become incapable of travel."

Peter, who helped by pushing wheelchairs and bringing food and water to the veterans, said the stories he heard that day were rich with history. One veteran, Peter said, was a pilot on a B24 bomber who flew 32 missions in Germany and North Africa. 

Although immediately after the war, many veterans tried to "forget and move on, just like the rest of the American public," now that they are aging, Peter said, "Maybe now, they don't mind telling their stories, and talking about the atrocities they saw."

Even some veterans who might be suffering from Alzheimer's and be forgetful, Peter said, "still remember what happened 70 years ago. It's so real to them."

Peter, who had a great uncle who served as a medic in WWII and another, now in his 90s, who was a gunner on a bobming plane, said the stories of veterans have always moved him.

Last weekend's experience, he said, made him have "an overwhelming urge" to volunteer for Honor Flight again; he is already planning to sign up for the October flight.

"Dedication to honoring our servicemen is something I feel is more important, now that I've gone," Peter, who hopes to be an engineer one day, said. "Seeing young people helping them -- the veterans take it to heart. Seeing them recognize that we really respect them, I think that changed me. It's something I'll take to heart more."

Peter was particularly moved by a female veteran who helped organize parties for servicemen overseas. "She had such an optimistic outlook on life -- it was touching," he said. "Speaking to the elderly and hearing their stories does provide valuable lessons."

Wilkinson, who heads up Riverhead's Key Club, volunteered as a guardian to the 90-year-old female Air Force veteran, Fran -- who asked that her last name not be publicized -- who served as a recreation director during the war.

The experience was deeply personal for Wilkinson, whose mother served in the Women's Army Corps and drove for the shows, meeting stars such as Martha Ray and Bob Hope -- the same shows Fran had organized. 

Fran, Wilkinson said, "had put off this trip for several months. Then she had a stroke -- and the thought of making this trip got her through."

Coming from a military family, Wilkinson, whose father served in the Coast Guard, her uncle, in the Army, and whose husband Harry was awarded three purple hearts -- felt compelled to take the journey to honor veterans.

Wilkinson, who has gone on an Honor Flight in the past, said the looks on veterans' faces always is deeply rewarding. And watching the experience through Peter's young eyes was particularly meaningful, she said. "I could see he somehow understood and connected with the veterans," she said.