WSFA 12 News Montgomery, AL |World War II vets receive final treat on plane ride home

World War II vets receive final treat on plane ride home

Posted by: Bryan Henry - bio | email 

PRATTVILLE, AL (WSFA) - Enter body copy here.

©2009 WSFA. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

It's a throwback to World War Two.

"Mail call! That was your favorite time of the day, wasn't it?" said Honor Flight organizer Roscoe Williams.

The part of the day when soldiers got a letter from home. Just about any letter would do because back then mail from home played a big role in a soldier's emotional stability in the midst of bombs and death.

"You're lucky. You got a letter today," Williams said again as he passed out 'letters' to the vets.

After spending an entire day at their war memorial in Washington, D.C., Honor Flight organizers thought it would be nifty idea to take veterans back in history one more time. The military practice of 'mail call.'

"The sgt. usually would go to the mailroom and get the unit's mail and it's addressed to that particular unit and he'd start yelling 'mail call, mail call!' said Williams.

Back in the day mail call was big business. In 1945 alone Americans on the home-front sent more than 3 billion pieces of mail overseas. Typically, a wife would write her soldier-husband a letter and talk about the challenges at home and let their children scribble a few lines to daddy as well.

And speaking of children, the letters the veterans got today were in fact real letters, penned by 5th graders at Prattville Christian Academy. Braydon wrote, 'Thank you for your service in the war. Thank you for making us free.' Rachel said 'thanks for my rights.'

"In today's society a 10-year old kid writing something like this, it gives me hope," said one war veteran on the plane.

As we stream towards home the veterans had plenty of time to think about their journey to D.C., a few hours reminiscing at their memorial that included a surprise greeting from a group of Prattville 6th graders, taking in the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown and a finally a mail call treat.

That's something the veterans can write home about.