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Highland Park veteran recounts Honor Flight
Bob Cohn, a 55-year resident of Highland Park who flew B-17 bombers during World War II, was showered with gratitude during a recent Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. | Dan Luedert~Sun-Times Media
Updated: December 30, 2012 6:11AM
HIGHLAND PARK — Highland Park resident Bob Cohn flew B-17 bombers in Germany and France during World War II and he recalls being scared on each of his 36 missions. “Any pilot who tells you otherwise is lying,” said Cohn, now 91. Like most veterans, Cohn didn’t care to dwell on those experiences and memories when he returned home at war’s end in 1945. So imagine the well of emotion that rose to the surface in early October, when Cohn was flown to Washington, D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial and other monuments — and showered with nonstop gratitude for his service. He was among 86 veterans who made the trip courtesy of Honor Flight Chicago. The group’s mission is to allow all veterans physically able to make the trip to visit the memorials established in their honor. More information is available at www.honorflightchicago.org.
Q. What did the Honor Flight involve?
A. The only bummer was I had to be at Midway Airport at 4:30 a.m. We were all checked in by 5:15 a.m. and when we got upstairs they had three girls imitating the Andrews Sisters singing songs of the WWII era. As we pulled up to the terminal in Washington D.C., there were fire trucks spraying water on the plane from both sides, which I have since learned is quite an honor. Every place we stopped there were always military personnel saluting and thanking us. The first stop we made was the Iwo Jima Memorial. Then the World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the Korean Memorial. While we were at the Lincoln Memorial, there were a whole bunch of tourists applauding us and thanking us. We also visited the Air and Space Museum to see the Enola Gay.
Q. Was this an emotional day for you?
A. It was so emotional that I get choked up about it. It was wonderful, awe-inspiring, stimulating, humbling, a once-in-a lifetime experience. I just can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe it. For a day, I was the world’s greatest person. The other 85 veterans and myself were all treated like kings.
Q. How did the day end?
A. As we were approaching the terminal at Midway, again there were fire trucks spraying us with water. There was a bagpipe band. The military was there saluting and thanking us. There must have been 1,000 people lined up: Cub Scouts, Girl Scouts, kids, senior citizens. I didn’t get home until 10 minutes past midnight. When I got home, my door was decorated with thank-you signs. I’ve gotten letters of thanks from the Mayor of Chicago, State Senator Susan Garrett, State Representative Karen May, the White House, the office of the governor and my “granddog.” I also received letters of thanks from school children and 17 people in my building. I don’t know how the Honor Flight people arranged all of it, but I’d like to give them a plug.
