Local veteran visits Washington as part of Honor Flight

Joe Hale tells a new acquaintance that after he finished his military service he returned home to Carroll County, finished his degree in agriculture from the University of Arkansas and ran a farm.

Asked if he still works on the farm, Hale responds: “Well, I’m 90 years old.”

Hale, who served in the Army during the Korean War, spending time in Austria and Italy, recently traveled to Washington, D.C, as part of an “Honor Flight” to visit memorials in the nation’s capital.

The Oct. 25 trip to Washington was arranged through Honor Flight of the Ozarks, a Springfield-based affiliate of Honor Flight Inc. The nonprofit organization was created to honor America’s veterans for their many sacrifices, according to its website.

Joe Hale was accompanied on his trip by his son, Mark. He said he and his fellow veterans were treated “like royalty.”

The veterans traveled on a chartered plane, leaving the Springfield airport at 5 a.m. As they boarded the plane, Hale said, the veterans passed through a line of students in military- style uniforms on each side of them.

“They were all saluting us. Then there were other dignitaries who were saluting us, and just ordinary people,” he said. “I was embarrassed. I didn’t deserve all that.” Among the sites the group visited were the World War II, Korea and Vietnam veteran memorials, along with the Iwo Jima, Navy and Air Force memorials and the Washington Monument. The group also traveled to Arlington National Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“Arlington was impressive,” Hale said. “It was all impressive. Iwo Jima, I’ve always heard so much about it. That impressed us.”

Hale said his wife of more than 60 years, Sonja, first applied for him to participate in an Honor Flight.

“It was a great trip,” he said, displaying a gift bag he received. “So many people went to so much work.”