64 World War II and Korean War Veterans Make Their Way To D.C.

FRESNO, Calif. — The Central Valley Honor Flight is on its 11th tour, this time taking 64 World War II and Korean War Veterans to see the memorials in Washington, D.C. that were built in their honor.

Martin Cortez served in the Army during the Korean War. He thought he was going to the North Pacific.

“Then I was just amazed when I graduated from artillery to find out I wasn’t going to Korea,” Cortez says. “I was going to Germany. Then somehow things got messed up, and when I boarded the ship, they dropped me off in England.” 

During his tour, he served in communications, and 65 years later he is visiting the war memorials with his brothers and sisters.

Also on the flight is David Kroll, who was awarded the Silver Star Medal for bravery at the age of 18.

“The pilot was captured, and we weren’t really sure if we’d take the chance to go down, and I said, we have nothing to lose, except the pilot,” Kroll says.

He says he was simply doing his job.

“I believe it was two colonels and a major that were presenting me. When I walked in the room, they were wondering who was supposed to be awarded the Silver Star,” Kroll says. “One of them said to the other, ‘he’s just a kid!'”

Kroll’s guardian on the Honor Flight, Tiffany Heyer, says she feel lucky to have been chosen as to accompany him.

“These guys and gals put their lives on the line for us, and they didn’t question it,” Heyer says. “Today I think a lot of people would question what they do or what they would do. The generation that served stepped up without question and without any regard for their own safety.”