Greater St. Louis Honor Flight

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Looking forward to taking all of you on your well-deserved Honor Flight!

Senator Dole was recently interviewed by a local ABC7 reporter in Washington, D.C. Senator Bob Dole was a driving force in raising nearly $300 million to erect the WWII Memorial and now serves as Chair of the Honor Flight Association Ambassadors Program. We've been thrilled to have him waiting at the Memorial to greet each of our veterans on many flights. #honorflightnetwork #gstlhf #honorflight

For all the fans of It’s A Wonderful Life and Jimmy Stewart . . . Just months after winning his 1941 Academy Award for best actor in The Philadelphia Story,... Jimmy Stewart, one of the best-known actors of the day, left Hollywood and joined the US Army. He was the first big-name movie star to enlist in World War II. An accomplished private pilot, the 33-year-old Hollywood icon became a US Army Air Force aviator, earning his 2nd Lieutenant commission in early 1942. With his celebrity status and huge popularity with the American public, he was assigned to starring in recruiting films, attending rallies, and training younger pilots. Stewart, however, wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to fly combat missions in Europe, not spend time in a stateside training command. By 1944, frustrated and feeling the war was passing him by, he asked his commanding officer to transfer him to a unit deploying to Europe. His request was reluctantly granted. Stewart, now a Captain, was sent to England, where he spent the next 18 months flying B-24 Liberator bombers over Germany. Throughout his time overseas, the US Army Air Corps' top brass had tried to keep the popular movie star from flying over enemy territory. But Stewart would hear nothing of it. Determined to lead by example, he bucked the system, assigning himself to every combat mission he could. By the end of the war he was one of the most respected and decorated pilots in his unit. But his wartime service came at a high personal price. In the final months of WWII he was grounded for being flak happy, today called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When he returned to the US in August 1945, Stewart was a changed man. He had lost so much weight that he looked sickly. He rarely slept, and when he did he had nightmares of planes exploding and men falling through the air screaming (in one mission alone his unit had lost 13 planes and 130 men, most of whom he knew personally). He was depressed, couldn’t focus, and refused to talk to anyone about his war experiences. His acting career was all but over. As one of Stewart's biographers put it, "Every decision he made [during the war] was going to preserve life or cost lives. He took back to Hollywood all the stress that he had built up. In 1946 he got his break. He took the role of George Bailey, the suicidal father in It’s a Wonderful Life. The rest is history. Actors and crew of the set realized that in many of the disturbing scenes of George Bailey unraveling in front of his family, Stewart wasn’t acting. His PTSD was being captured on filmed for potentially millions to see. But despite Stewart's inner turmoil, making the movie was therapeutic for the combat veteran. He would go on to become one of the most accomplished and loved actors in American history. When asked in 1941 why he wanted to leave his acting career to fly combat missions over Nazi Germany, he said, "This country's conscience is bigger than all the studios in Hollywood put together, and the time will come when we'll have to fight. This weekend, as many of us watch the classic Christmas film, It’s A Wonderful Life, it’s also a fitting time to remember the sacrifices of Jimmy Stewart and all the men who gave up so much to serve their country during wartime. We will always remember you! Postscript: While fighting in Europe, Stewart's Oscar statue was proudly displayed in his father’s Pennsylvania hardware store. Throughout his life, the beloved actor always said his father, a World War I veteran, was the person who had made the biggest impact on him. Jimmy Stewart was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1985 and died in 1997 at the age of 89.

This is something everyone should smile about. We have some remarkable female veterans who we are so honored to know. That sentiment is echoed throughout our nation as we celebrate women in the armed forces!

Another special message to our veterans from Gary Wetzel, Vietnam Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient. #wewillflyagain

For all veterans in the St. Louis area, Waterway is offering free car washes for you every Wednesday in November. Take advantage of it!

When you shop at Dierbergs Markets through November 16 and round your purchase up to the nearest dollar, you are supporting men and women like Korean War veteran Joel Hauck and those served by The Joshua Chamberlain Society. We were honored to escort Mr. Hauck to Washington D.C. in 2019 to honor his service and sacrifice to our nation. #gstlhf #honorflightnetwork #dierbergs #veterans #wewillflyagain

A message to our Honor Flight veterans who have had their flights postponed this year from General McKenzie. Thank you, sir. We will fly again! #wewillflyagain

Tune in to today’s edition of Operation Reassurance with Andre Fluellen, former defensive tackle with the Detroit Lions and Honor Flight Guardian! We are with you in being open ears and open hearts for our veterans to share their stories! #wewillflyagain

One week until Veterans Day! We believe that EVERY day is Veterans Day. Show your support for our veterans by shopping at Dierbergs Markets through 11/16 and rounding up your purchase to the nearest dollars. Those extra pennies go a long way to support our veterans and The Joshua Chamberlain Society. Pictured here is our Chairman Emeritus, Harry Hope, Korean War Veteran and decorated Marine from the Battle of Chosin Reservoir alongside one of the sentinels from the Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier in 2019. #gstlhf #honorflightnetwork #dierbergs #roundupattheregister #veteransday #veterans #wewillflyagain

Thank you, Joe Mantegna, for your support of our veterans! Our veterans are not forgotten and we will fly again!

Today begins our Round Up at the Register Campaign at Dierbergs Markets! Dierbergs invites customers to make change with their change now through November 16 by rounding up their transaction total to the nearest dollar amount. Those proceeds will benefit our mission and the mission of The Joshua Chamberlain Society! We will fly again! #gstlhf #honorflightnetwork #dierbergs #veterans #wewillflyagain

We couldn't do it without our airline partners!

God Bless the USA, indeed...especially our veterans!! Thank you Lee Greenwood for your message of support to our veterans!

STARTING TOMORROW! Support our mission to recognize our veterans with a day of honor, remembrance and celebration. We do this with a one-day, all-expenses paid trip to Washington, DC to visit the Memorials built to honor their service and sacrifice. Simply round up your Dierbergs Markets transactions 11/3-11/16 and the proceeds will benefit us and The Joshua Chamberlain Society. Many veterans return saying it was one of the best days of their life. #gstlhf #honorflightnetwork #veterans #dierbergs #wewillflyagain

Joe Bonsall of The Oak Ridge Boys sends a heartfelt message to all our veterans across the nation whose Honor Flights have been postponed due to the pandemic. #gstlhf #honorflightnetwork #wewillflyagain

We will fly again.