Like a baptism

Gallery • 32 Photos

Nikki Sisson

Veterans are applauded as they arrive at Reagan International Airport during their Veteran Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C. on Aug. 25.

On day one, we land at the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Virginia, where the veterans are greeted with applause from other travelers around the terminal as they exited the plane.

Meet Edward L. Oller, U.S. Navy (Ret.)

Nikki Sisson

Edward L. Oller faced harsh realities after returning for the Vietnam War. 

“When I came back from Vietnam,” Oller says.it’s almost as though I went to buy a gallon of milk and came back.”

Society treated him as if nothing had ever happened. The sacrifices Oller and many other Vietnam veterans made, illustrates the hardships these veterans have faced. 

Oller, along with many other veterans, had the opportunity to experience these memorials first hand with during this Honor Flight. To Oller, these memorials are direct representations of what he experienced; additionally, the trip gives Oller the chance to learn more about his brethren in other branches. 

Honor Flight program has created a community of veterans that share compelling stories about their life in the service. The relationships between these veterans extend farther than the connections they create on the trip. Communities surrounding Oller such as the VFW (Veterans of Foriegn Wars) and the VNC (Veterans Network Committee) have played a large role in giving these Veterans a community. 

After being greeted to an uproar of applause and cheers at the airport, Oller says, “It was very touching, getting off the plane was very touching.”

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Army veteran Jim Adgu says, “[The airport welcome] actually brought a tear to my eye.” 

From the airport, we head out to our first destination: The Capitol, which is currently under construction. There, the veterans are able to take group pictures, talk to one another and admire the buildings and statues in the area. 

“[The Capitol has] a lot of history, good and bad,” says Navy veteran Lilymarlene Flynn. 

We then head over to the United States Navy Memorial, taking our time to get a tour of the city on the way. There, the statue of the Lone Sailor stands in the middle of an outlining fountain consisting of water from all seven seas. The Lone Sailor Statue is a symbol of the men and women who have served in the Navy and is the Navy Memorial’s way of honoring, recognizing and celebrating our troops. 

All of our group’s Navy veterans gather around to take a picture in front of the statue. The three high school students who are training and planning to join the military, known as Cadets, also partake in the Seven Seas Baptism tradition. This is a Naval tradition where soldiers fill their hats with the water from the fountain surrounding the memorial. They then put their hats back on, essentially pouring the water over them, like a baptism.

“What our whole program is really about is preparing kids and youth for the rigors of military life,” Cadet Walter Chesney explains. “[Being at the Navy Memorial] was a wonderful experience not just for myself … but also to see how impactful it was on the veterans … And now I truly understand the gravity that they’re the reason it’s there.”

The Air Force Memorial is truly beautiful, with three curved spires that seem to go into the sky. Everyone enjoyed laying down in the center of the spires to take pictures. Air Force veterans get together for a picture and talk amongst each other. We then head back to the hotel for dinner before calling it a night. 

As I lay in bed that night, reflecting back on our first day, I get the feeling that this trip will stick with me forever, and that I will make amazing memories here — day one alone proves that. I think about the veteran I interviewed earlier and silently thanked him for all he has done. I think of all the other people I will get to talk to in the next few days, and fall asleep with a smile on my face.