SUN CITY – Henry Fransen got a strange phone call a couple of weeks ago, and the person that called was about to give him an opportunity that he would remember forever. Henry and his friend, Fritz Mazuer, both WWII Marianne Corp. Veterans, and members of the Sun City Marine Corp. Group, wrote over a year ago to a company called The Honor Flight Chicago Group, letting them know that they would be interested in finding out more information about what the group was about. They never got any response until a few weeks ago.
Sun City residents Henry Fransen (left) and Fritz Mazuer were selected to by The Honor Flight Chicago Group to visit the WWII Memorial in Washington D.C. Their plane left in the small hours of the morning on August 24 and returned the same day to a warm reception for these two heroes. (Photo provided)
According to The Honor Flight Chicago Group’s website, “The group, which consists of all volunteers, collects donations that go directly to fund their operations. The group spends approximately $50,000 to bring Chicago veterans who fought in World War II on a one day trip to Washington DC, at no cost to them, for a day of honor.”
Henry and Fritz were very interested in taking part in this event. They were directed to go to Midway Airport on August 24, where they were just two of eighty veterans also attending. At the airport, they were assigned a guardian, who paid their own way and was responsible for the safety, comfort, and enjoyment of the guests.
The veterans were served lunch and were entertained by a group of women who sang, danced, and looked like the Andrew Sisters, who used to entertain the soldiers back in the 1930’s and 40’s.
After lunch, the veterans boarded a plane for Washington D.C. There, they were taken on a tour of the Air and Space Museum, Lincoln Memorial, and the World War II Memorial.
“It was the most beautiful thing you have ever seen in your life,” Henry said, as his voice started to tremble. “There was a flag presentation for a former veteran who had just passed away. He had a full honor guard ceremony. What was most memorable, though, was that at this memorial, there were 4,000 gold stars on a wall. Each star represented 100 soldiers that were killed in World War II.”
Henry then went to the Hiroshima Memorial, where his guardian took many photos for him. This was another of many emotional times for him on this trip. There, Henry reflected about how he joined the Marine Corps on December 11, 1942, just three weeks after his older brother died while also serving in the military. From San Diego, where he trained, he went to the South Pacific, where he fought in Guam and Hiroshima. He remembers three years later, on July 13, 1945, at noon on his birthday, he was able to return to American soil for a furlough. Four months later, his tour of duty ended.
As the long, eventful day was coming to a close, the veterans were driven back to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., were they ate dinner and again were entertained by the Andrew Sister look-alikes.
While they were in flight, the Honor Group handed out letters that people and family members wrote to each veteran to thank them for all that they had done for our country. Henry received over 40 letters, which included ones from Mayor Daily and Secretary of State Jesse White. When they returned to Midway in Chicago, they were greeted by over 1,000 well-wishers. Different organizations in military uniforms, the Boy and Girl Scouts, various Biker groups, and their families surprised the veterans as they exited the plane.
“It was so heartwarming to see so many people care about and never forget us,” Henry said. Our veterans helped to secure the blessings of liberty for the rest of us. By giving them an opportunity to honor and pay homage to them, all of America will always remember their great heroism: we are the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.
