| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2010 7:28 am |
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Opinion Columnists 
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Taking wing in their honor WASHINGTON — A couple weeks before Veterans Day, I went down to the World War II Memorial on the Mall to join Bob and Elizabeth Dole and a group of elderly soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen from her hometown of Salisbury, N.C., who had been flown to Washington that morning to get their first view of the nation’s tribute to the troops that helped defeat Hitler’s forces.Bob Dole, who was badly wounded in Italy during that war, had just been recognized with a plaque for spurring creation of the memorial, and Elizabeth Dole said that “Bob and I are down here almost every Saturday,” greeting one of the Honor Flights that bring veterans to Washington to see the memorial. This flight was special, because their caps and T-shirts bore the name of her older brother, the late John Hanford, himself a Navy veteran. After the ceremonies, while the veterans were enjoying a picnic lunch, I visited with Jeff Miller, another North Carolinian who is co-chairman of the Honor Flight Network. Miller, a small-businessman, told me that when the memorial opened, he regretted that his father, a Navy vet, had never gotten to see it. An idea began to form and he started talking to friends about how wonderful it would be if they could somehow arrange for all the World War II vets in their home county who wanted to see the memorial to be flown to Washington. He talked his way into the office of an executive of US Airways — himself the son of two war vets — and just before Christmas in 2006, he had raised enough money to send the first chartered plane to Washington. The next year, Bob Dole came aboard and Bill Geist of CBS did a Sunday morning feature on the program — and it took off. With groups now operating in 33 states, 40,000 veterans have been treated to their first view of “their” memorial. Those I met said they were overwhelmed by the honor. But really, as Elizabeth Dole told them, “It is you who honor us.” That experience was still much on my mind when John Bridgeland, a friend who had worked in the George W. Bush White House, sent me a report that will be issued on Veterans Day, outlining a volunteer community program focused on the nearly 2 million young Americans who have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. “They are a vulnerable population, especially during the transition home,” the report says, with higher rates of suicide, homelessness, unemployment and dependence on food stamps than their contemporaries. But the thrust of the report is that these men and women, products of the all-volunteer armed forces, responded to a survey with answers showing they brought their patriotic motivations back with them from the wars. Many of them are eager to become involved in projects in their hometowns, but relatively few have been asked to help. The report — from Civic Enterprises in Washington — sketches many ways in which they might be mobilized — as rewarding a Veterans Day project as the Honor Flights. ---------- It was typical of John Mashek, the fine Washington political reporter who died unexpectedly on Tuesday, that, much as he loved the Philadelphia Phillies, run by his friend Bill Giles, he was nothing if not candid in appraising their chances in the postseason. Before the first round of the playoffs began, he told me he thought the Phils could return to the World Series this year but “I’m not sure we’ve got the pitching to beat the Yankees.” Mashek, who worked for U.S. News & World Report and The Boston Globe among others during a long career, was equally blunt and on target in appraising the public officials he covered. A one-time semi-pro pitcher himself and a fierce competitor on the tennis court, he played no favorites in his work but applied the tough standards of sports to presidential candidates and other pols. As the saying goes, he cared not if they won or lost, but how they played the game — the right way. I mourn his passing. David Broder is a Washington Post columnist. His e-mail address is davidbroder@washpost.com. |
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- Ruling expected on Sultan beating statement
- ‘Roadkill’ caucus seeks a voice for centrist Democrats
- Police seek witnesses in two accidents
- PAWS calls out for critter care-givers
- Boeing has a busy test schedule
- Ex-Boeing engineer jailed for espionage
- Morning mystery: What happened to House Bill 3181?
- Lynnwood sets height limit on grass: 8 inches
(10) - State Senate votes to toss I-960's tax-raising hurdle (9)
- Schools do well in levy elections (7)
- School levies in Snohomish County all passing, Marysville bond failing (7)
- Cat wanders into police parking lot, is euthanized (6)
- A tidy lawn could be law in Lynnwood (4)
- Lynnwood makes law against too tall lawns (4)
- Two suspects sought in Everett shooting that injured two (3)
- Boeing now favored to win tanker, experts say (3)
- Vote on school levies by Tuesday (3)
- Jackson girls outlast Meadowdale owdale
- OBT raises barre in children’s program
- Junior firefighters
- School levies passing
- Mavericks topple Wolfpack
- Get a second look at Second City Feb. 13
- Sports Briefs
- Warriors advance 11 to regional meet
- Arlington's Cascade Valley Hospital celebrates expansion, national award and 100 years of service
- Business Licences Feb. 2010
- Technology tips for launching your own business
- Business Events Feb. 2010
- Tech Talk: No excuse today for going without a Web site
- State already raising fees and rates that restrict business growth
- Some legislators again targeting people’s initiative petition rights
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