Honor Flight with Mr. Blas Hernandez

They are known as “The Greatest Generation” and on a recent trip to Washington DC with Kern County’s Honor Flight, I was able to discover firsthand how true this saying is.

Honor Flight is a National non-profit organization that honors our veterans who served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam by flying them to see the memorials built in their honor in Washington, DC. For a while now, I have been interested in this organization and as a prior member of the military (US Navy 2000-2004), a daughter of a Vietnam Navy Veteran (my dad served 1972-1977), and also a current military spouse (my husband is an Officer in the Army) I felt a connection and calling to volunteer my services to this great cause.

On the morning of Tuesday September 1st, I was just a stranger volunteering her time to help these veterans on their Honor Flight….and I returned on the evening of Thursday September 3rd with memories to last a lifetime and a new friend – Mr. Blas Hernandez.

Mr. Hernandez, a current resident of Tehachapi, served in the Navy as a Coxswain during World War II from 1944-1946. He is a true hero for his dedicated service during and after the war. With the generous help of the Honor Flight, Mr. Hernandez was able to fly to Washington DC to see the memorials built in HIS honor. We spent a whirlwind three days flying to and from DC, were led around the city in a tour bus with the help of a motorcycle police escort, meet many grateful visitors and current servicemen and women who thanked our veterans for their service and saw such sights as the Capital, Air and Space Museum, and the Navy, WWII, Lincoln, FDR, Marines, Vietnam, and Korean War Memorials (just to name a “few”).

This was the 18th Honor Flight for Kern County and our group consisted of 16 WWII veterans (14 males and 2 females). With my new friend Mr. Hernandez, we reminisced about our Navy boot camp days, we joked about Zach (the professional photographer who volunteered his talent to capture many special memories during this trip) and laughed at the sneaky ways he would photograph us when we weren’t looking, we cried and held hands during taps at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, walked solemnly around the WWII Memorial, we looked in awe at the impressive size of ‘ol Abe at the Lincoln Memorial, and we smiled for hours when greeted by complete strangers who would stop to talk and take photographs with him – honored to shake the hand of a WWII hero and living proof of “The Greatest Generation

For more information, to apply as a volunteer, or if you know of a Veteran ready for their Honor Flight, please visit

the Kern County’s Honor Flight website: http://www.honorflightkerncounty.org