Local veteran takes part in honor flight

Published 9:20 am Friday, November 8, 2019

NILES — Last Saturday, 88-year-old Niles resident Larry Low said he spent the day being treated like a celebrity. Starting at the Kalamazoo Air Zoo at 3 a.m., he walked through the airport greeted by a barrage of thank-yous and handshakes. After taking the skies and landing in Washington D.C., a group of strangers lined up and applauded for him and the group he was traveling with. Again, once landing back in Michigan that same night, he was greeted by a cheering crowd, many of whom carried with them homemade signs.

“It got better all the time,” Low recalled, sitting inside of his Niles living room. “Everywhere we went, there were people there to thank us and wish us well. Everywhere we went, there were greetings, and that just really makes you feel good.”

Saturday, Low, with his grandson Shawn, 48, of Niles, serving as his guardian, took part in a Talons Out Honor flight. Talons Out Honor Flight is the southwest Michigan hub for the National Honor Flight Network that brings World War II, Korean War, Vietnam era and terminally ill veterans in and around southwest Michigan to Washington, D.C. to visit their war memorials. The service is provided at no cost to the veterans.

More than 80 local veterans took part in Saturday’s flight.

According to the National Honor Flight Network, the organization’s mission is to honor veterans who have served and sacrificed for the country. The organization has been hosting honor flights since 2005.

“They were given the heroes’ welcome,” Shawn said of Saturday’s flight. “All day long, they were honored. It was a special day.”

Low is a Marine veteran who served from 1951 to 1959. Military service runs in his family as his wife, Sharon, is an Army veteran, serving from 1961 to 1962, and his grandson, Shawn, is a fellow Marine veteran, serving from 1989 to 1993.

Low said the honor flight and the recognition that came with it — including dozens of thank-you letters written by area students — was a nice reminder that the work veterans have done is appreciated by the community.

“It just made you feel really special,” he said. “I never expected anything like that. It was outstanding. It was very emotional.”

Shawn said that recognition meant a lot to all of the veterans who attended. He said he spoke to some Vietnam veterans who were especially moved Saturday, as they received the welcome they never did when they came home from the war.

“They said, ‘we got treated so poorly when we came home [from Vietnam]. They called us names and threw rocks at us,’” Shawn said, recounting his conversations. “A couple of them were crying as we went through the line. … I think it meant a lot to them to be honored like this.”

Many of the volunteers working the honor flight Saturday wore T-shirts that read, “Every day is Veterans Day.” It was a sentiment both Larry and Shawn appreciated. As Veteran’s Day is right around the corner, they hope residents of southwest Michigan will adopt that mindset.

“I think like [Talons Out] treated us, we can all treat each other a little better every day,” Shawn said. “I think that little bit of appreciation can make a big difference.”

“Just being told ‘thank you’ can be very nice and make you feel good,” Larry added.