Roehrich Grateful For Honor Flight
By Jessica Wald
“I was totally amazed by the whole trip,” said Eugene Roehrich, Napoleon about his recent Western North Dakota Honor Flight. “I would recommend the trip to anyone who has the privilege to be nominated.”
Roehrich, who is a Vietnam War Veteran, said he was quite hesitant of the honor flight, made possible for our country’s veterans to witness the nation’s capital and many historical sites, but after taking the trip, he thoroughly enjoyed all of it. “There was a lot to do in a very short amount of time,” he said as the itinerary had the group departing from the Bismarck Airport in the early morning hours of September 23 and arriving back in Bismarck the evening of September 24. While in D.C. the honor flight attendees were able to visit the Lincoln, Korean War, WWII and Vietnam Memorials, U.S. Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps War Memorials, tour the U.S. Capitol building, Changing of the Guards/Arlington, Smithsonian, along with attending a reception and banquet put on in their honor.
Roehrich’s highlight was visiting the Vietnam Wall, along with the WWII Memorial. “That really meant something to me,” he said as a Vietnam Vet, and his dad was a Veteran of WWII. He noted D.C. seems a lot cleaner now, compared to when he was stationed to nearby Fort Lee in 1968. “I remember racial riots and war riots going on at that time,” he said. “It’s a lot cleaner now; I was impressed.”
Eugene said he enjoys history. “I’m a bit of a history nut, so I liked seeing our nation’s capital. It’s a lot different now; [in 1968] you could just. . .