I want to share a deeply personal and meaningful experience that recently impacted me in ways I never anticipated. It’s a story about service, friendship, and gratitude—centered around a remarkable Honor Flight journey I took with a Vietnam Veteran. The story is a bit longer than our usual posts, but I promise—it’s worth the read when you have a quiet moment. It’s not just about honoring Veterans, but about the human connections that can change us in unexpected ways. We’ve also included a short video that captures the spirit of the day. I hope you’ll take the time to watch and reflect.
Honor Flight Mission 28 with Captain Ken Cook
When I volunteered to be a “Guardian“ for one of our Honored Veteran’s escorting him on a well organized 20+ hour day of special tours of the Washington DC Memorials, I had no premonition that this was going to be as monumental of an event in my lifetime as it turned out to be!
My good buddy Craig Landry has been involved with Collier-Lee Honor Flight for 10 years in Naples, Florida, and through Craig’s guidance, I was given an unbelievable opportunity to serve!
I will share my story, as well as my assignments story on Mission #28, Vietnam Veteran Captain Kenneth E Cook: United States Marine Corps Pilot, and recipient of the Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Award. But before the story begins, I believe that it’s critical to understand that the day I personally met Captain Ken Cook, my life changed, and I know that Ken felt the same! I am age 71, and Captain Cook is age 81, and it’s amazing to me that 10 short years in age made such a big difference in two lifetimes. Captain Cook is a true American hero, and someone whom I dreamed to be like as a child, grew up to respect as an adult, and now I call Captain Ken a close friend!! We have been separated by 10 years since birth, plus many decades thereafter, but because of Collier-Lee Honor Flight both of our lives met at an intersection in time, and our lives have been mutually enriched!
Now on to the story :-)
To be accepted to serve in Collier-Lee Honor Flight, the candidate goes through extensive screening and rigorous training with constant communication. I quickly learned to respect Honor Flight’s dedicated group of Volunteers, who are well trained, well organized, incredibly good communicators, and ever so protective of our Veterans! Collier-Lee Honor Flight Volunteers are trained to be more protective of our Veterans than a Mama Grizzly Bear over her Cubs! :-)
I received notification of who my Veteran would be, and I immediately called Captain Ken, and we also texted and emailed each other in preparation for our first opportunity to meet face-to-face. The first time that a Guardian and Veteran meet is a formal event for all participants preparing us for our mission. Prior to that meeting, I asked Captain Ken if he would prefer that I pick him up in my SUV, which would be comfortable, or my Ferrari Convertible. With Captain Ken serving our country as a fighter pilot, I correctly guessed what Ken’s preferred choice of transportation would be :-)
Our preliminary meeting of Collier-Lee Honor Flight #28 took place exactly one week ahead of our big day, and I arrived at Ken‘s home in the Ferrari, and we chatted all the way to our meeting as if we had been friends for years. Upon arriving, we were greeted by many patriots thanking Captain Ken for his service, as we joined the approximate 183 members of Collier-Lee Honor Flight #28, which consisted of 85 Veterans who served in either WW2, Korea, the Cold War, or Vietnam. Two World War II Veterans signed up for #28, and unfortunately only one was able to join us on our journey to Washington DC. That Veteran is Michael Peceri, age 99! Michael was interviewed by Wink News of Fort Myers, Florida, and they followed Michael throughout Mission #28. Ken and I had the pleasure to speak with Michael, and we will never forget him! Ken asked Michael “What is your secret of Longevity”, and Michael said with a smile “Happy Hour at 5 PM“!
In addition to our 85 Veterans, we had 85 Guardians, of which I was one, and 13 talented Collier-Lee Honor Flight Staff! The first order of business was a long-standing tradition in the military of a “Pinning Ceremony”. It was quite an honor for me that they asked me to read the verbiage honoring Captain Ken and his decorated service, while our new friend, and Veteran, Ed Smith, attached the pin on Ken’s chest of the “50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War”! Only a Veteran can Pin another Veteran!
When you join the Collier-Lee Honor Flight Team, you quickly pick up on their lingo, as they continuously talked about the “Paychecks“ each of them received while serving our deserving Veterans! Captain Ken and I personally met on April 5th, 2025, my Veteran Father‘s Birthday, and I quickly learned that I was given the biggest “Paycheck” of my lifetime! April 5th was one week prior to Collier-Lee Honor Flight Mission #28, and over that following week, Ken and I conversed about our trip!
And now the big day arrived, April 12, 2025! My alarm went off at 2:15 AM and I left my home at 3 AM in the comfortable SUV to pick up Captain Ken at his home at 3:30 AM. We arrived at Southwest International Airport in Fort Myers, Florida at 4AM being greeted by many Patriots. A welcoming breakfast was provided at the airport as all 183 of us were excited about the day ahead! Fort Myers WINK News Crews filmed our day, as Collier-Lee Honor Flight chartered a private American Airlines plane to take us to Ronald Reagan airport in Washington DC. Immediately upon boarding the plane, instead of turning right, following the rest of our Veterans, Captain Ken made an abrupt left turn into the open cockpit and introduced himself to our two pilots! It was a fun experience, and then I learned a tradition of Captain Ken’s, as he brought the Flight Crew fresh donuts! After Captain Ken‘s military service, he Captained the big planes for Eastern Airlines throughout his career, and then became an inspector for the FAA! During his career as a Commercial Airline Pilot, Ken always brought donuts for the crew, and even as a passenger, Ken continued that long-standing tradition!
Ken and I were appreciative that the crew decorated the plane with rows of American Flags, as well as red, white, and blue blinking lights decorating the plane’s ceiling. My buddy Craig walked through the plane with a boombox playing Lee Greenwood‘s ballad, “God Bless the USA”! Without a doubt, our flight was unlike any other flight of my lifetime, as the energy of Mission #28 was ever so evident, and it was fun witnessing all the new friendships at 5 AM in the morning!
Upon our arrival at Reagan, the Fire Department had two Fire Trucks spraying an arch over us as we rolled through, which Captain Ken told me is a tradition in the airline industry honoring a Captain on his final arrival prior to retirement, as well as dignitaries such as our Veterans. Ken shared with me that he received the same honor on his final flight! There were 85 wheelchairs waiting for our Veterans as our journey through the airport to the buses was long, and we wanted to save the energy of our Veterans. In the airport we were greeted by an all male chorus welcoming our Veteran’s with Patriotic songs, as well as many greeters waiving flags and thanking our deserving Veterans!
As a side-note, during our Guardian training, we were informed that if one of our Veterans goes down, “We darn well better be under him!” I told my Personal Trainer, Lucas, about this responsibility, and with a smile, Lucas said “Good luck with that!”:-) Lucas' comment didn’t provide confidence, nor did his comment following when he said “Even if you make it under him, Captain Ken is going to need to help you up!”:-) Fortunately, Captain Ken was ever so steady, as I would expect an 81 year old Marine Corps Veteran to be! As a result, I didn’t need to jump into my “Diving to the Ground Duties!”
We were divided into four groups, and Captain Ken and I were on the “Green Bus“, and our first stop was the World War II Memorial. We were immediately greeted by an actor convincingly playing the role of General George Patton! Further along, Ken and I saw the State of Iowa Memorial, my home state, and Ken and I took a picture together. We then searched for the New Hampshire Memorial so we could get a photo of Ken’s home state. The group photo of our Mission #28 Veterans was taken at the World War II Memorial, and Ken and Ed were chosen to hold the American flag!! After visiting many areas of the World War II museum, Ken and I searched and found the tribute Memorial to “Kilroy Was Here“, which was a popular World War II graffiti doodled by US Service Men all over the world. The graffiti was of a bald-headed man with a prominent nose peeking over a wall with his fingers clutching the wall.
We then moved on to the Iwo Jima Memorial with lunch provided by Mission Barbecue, and then we traveled to Arlington National Cemetery, visiting the Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers. What an impressive ceremony with the Changing of the Guards who Faithfully protect the Tombs 24/7! The Tombs of the Unknown Soldiers are on a hill overlooking the Nations Capital as seen in the far distance. Our arrival time was based on the very impressive “Changing of the Guard Ceremony”, and Captain Ken had a perfect front row viewing location! The cemetery was a perfect place to view the bright spring colors provided by the bountiful bushes and trees!
We then traveled to the Air Force Memorial, and then to the Korean and Vietnam Memorials! The Vietnam Memorial was quite moving for Captain Ken, as we searched for and found Norman K Billipp's engraving in the wall. Norm was Ken‘s buddy and fellow Marine Corps Fighter Pilot. Ken and I spoke about Norm as we were getting the etching of Norm’s name from the wall, and that’s when Ken brought up that Norm‘s younger brother came up through the ranks, and Ken assisted Andy with his flight training as Andy became a full-fledged Marine Corps Fighter Pilot. Ken said that it’s been decades since he’s spoken with Andy, and had no idea how to find him. I quickly jumped on an internet search and found Andy in Houston, Texas. Days after our trip, Ken and Andy had a three-hour phone conversation! It was an amazing reunion for these two decorated Marines, who both lost someone important to them in the Vietnam War!
After we departed from the Vietnam Memorial, we began our journey back to Reagan airport for our flight to Fort Myers. We were greeted with Chick-fil-A dinners, and everyone was happy about that! Another treat for Captain Ken, and the other Veterans, was when it was LOUDLY announced “MAIL CALL!!!” For weeks in advance, our Veterans friends and family members secretly wrote notes and letters to their favorite Veteran, and 4-5 massive duffel bags were collected by Collier-Lee Honor Flight and distributed to our Veterans on our way home! One of Ken’s letters was from President Trump, another from Florida Governor DeSantis, another letter from Florida Senator Rick Scott, and many other letters from the Florida House of Representatives Members. However, the overwhelming majority of letters were personally written by family and friends with heartfelt messages. I’m proud that many members of my family wrote notes to Captain Ken, and I collected them and gave them to Ken.
The icing on the cake for Ken and our other Veterans was upon departing the airplane in Fort Myers, we were greeted by hundreds and hundreds of Patriots welcoming our men home! Especially for our Vietnam Veterans such as Ken, this joyous and loving welcome home was in sharp contrast compared to their returning home from Vietnam. Sadly in those days, our soldiers were not welcomed home for their service, and many of our service men and women were spat upon and verbally attacked for being in the military. This time it was completely different, and what made our Welcome Home amazing was the fact that it was a Saturday night at 10:30 PM, with every generation represented from the youngest to the oldest! There were Police Officers and Firefighters, First Responders, military representatives both active and retired, Boy Scout Troops, bands playing music, the Scot Guards with their pipes and drums in full garb, church groups, friends and family, and an unending participation by the public!
Our Veterans had no idea this was coming, and just as at Reagan, we instructed our Veterans that they would be in a wheelchair after exiting the plane. Our purpose this time was different however, as the greeters often gave gifts to our Veterans, and those gifts would be conveniently stored on the laps of our deserving Veterans!
I have never seen such patriotism at an airport, as the American Flags, and American Flag designed clothing, hats and posters were being displayed in full force! For me, there were two especially moving moments, with the first being an older Veteran in the crowd, who is also a Collier-Lee Honor Flight Volunteer, snapped a salute to Captain Ken, who instantly saluted his fellow Veteran back. These two Veterans locked eyes, and salute, and the moment seemed to freeze in time for me! I’m so glad that I caught the photo! The second impactful moment was when a young Cub Scout, in full uniform, reached out and firmly shook Ken's hand. The Cub Scout and the Marine also locked eyes! For me, this was another moment frozen in time! The shot was so photographic and memorable as the back of Ken’s hat proudly stated “US MARINES”.
Our patriots properly welcomed our Veterans back home, and our Veterans were sincerely moved! One Veteran near us broke into tears, as the heartfelt greeting was so impactful for him! A huge “Thank You” to Ken’s wife, Sue, who came up with the idea of Ken participating in the Collier-Lee Honor Flight Program! If it were not for Sue, Ken and I would not be friends!
A week following our Honor Flight, my wife Lynn and I joined Ken and Sue, and their son Cameron for dinner in Marco Island. What a fabulous evening we had as two families merged. A couple of weeks later, it was the boys' turn to get together, as I organized a happy hour and dinner for Craig and Ed, as well as Captain Ken and me. In addition, I invited my buddy Sean McAuley, who is a 9/11 New York City Firefighter. Sean lost many fellow Firefighters on 9/11, and I knew he would have a lot in common with both Ed and Ken.
Ken and I continue with phone calls and text messages, as he and Sue spend the summer in Cape Cod! I’m looking forward to getting back together with my buddy Ken in the fourth quarter of the year.
A note on Honor Flight:
Honor Flight is a National Not-For-Profit Organization with chapters replicating what our Collier-Lee Honor Flight program accomplishes.
As you know, when we give back to the community, it’s because it is a heartfelt contribution! And yet, every time we give, we get so much more back in friendships and LIFE’s experiences! I highly recommend researching the Honor Flight Program in your area, as there are many ways that you can serve our Veterans in addition to the actual flight day itself.
For more information regarding the Collier-Lee Honor Flight please visit:
Collier-Lee Honor Flight
PO Box 8001 Naples, FL 34101
info@collierhonorflight.org
(239) 777-9295
The National Honor Flight Organization:
www.honorflight.org
1405 S. Fern St., #702
Arlington, VA 22202
937-521-2400
Email: info@honorflight.org
Honor Flight Network is a 501(c)(3) Accredited Charity Organization with a 4 out of 4 Star rating by Charity Navigator