27-05-2025
Midwest Honor Flight veterans reflect on Memorial Day
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO/AP) — Army veteran Darrell Williamson of Sioux Falls was among the 85 honored area veterans brought to the nation's capital by Midwest Honor Flight on May 6.
'It was beyond anything I expected,' Williamson said Monday. 'I mean … they call it the Honor Flight, and honor is the word.'
Williamson and Air Force veteran Steve Tinklenberg of Sioux Falls, who was also part of the group of 85, each highlight the experience of visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
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'You cannot go there enough,' Tinklenberg said Monday. 'I mean, you're going to be moved every time.'
'The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was, caught my heart,' Williamson said.
For many people, May's final Monday is a day off from work and thus, maybe an opportunity to relax or enjoy some down time. But that, of course, isn't the reason for Memorial Day, when the country honors the names and stories of those who gave their lives while they served with the nation's armed forces. As Tinklenberg considers the meaning of Memorial Day, he shares what he saw on the May 6 journey while visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on the National Mall.
'I watched one of the veterans who had never been there, and he found his, two of his friends that had died there, and he was a basket case … but, cathartic for him,' Tinklenberg said.
On that trip as well as on Memorial Day, the country honors people who sacrificed themselves and the opportunity to experience everything the years can offer.
'I had a life that they didn't,' Williamson said.
It's why Memorial Day, like the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or the wall at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, is a permanent memorial today as well as tomorrow.
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