By Sterling McGinn
A Lakefield Township resident and U. S. Army Veteran participated in a historic all-female honor flight, which escorted 167 women veterans to Washington, D.C. for a one-day tour of some of the most iconic memorials of the Nation’s Capital.
The flight, known as the U.P. Women of Valor, took place on Wednesday, May 21 leaving the Delta County Airport in the early morning hours. This was the first trip of its’ kind in the Upper Peninsula and was the second in Michigan.
Becky Keene, who lives on Big Manistique Lake and is an active member of the American Legion Post 74 of Newberry, was one of the 167 veterans on Honor Flight Mission XXVI, which was the largest all-female honor flight in the U.S. ever to be held.
Upper Peninsula Honor Flight, headquartered in Gladstone, has transported thousands of Upper Peninsula veterans to Washington, D.C. since its initial flight on September 22, 2011.
The group is part of the National Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization.
On typical flights, which take place twice a year, approximately 80 veterans are on board, each accompanied by a guardian. Exclusively for veterans of World War II at first, the program eventually expanded to adding Korean and Vietnam veterans, with priority still given to World War II veterans and veterans who are terminally ill.
Participants are taken to see the many monuments and landmarks built in their honor. There are no expenses for the veteran. The airfare, meals, hotel stay, and other items are paid for entirely by donations.
Flights take place in May and September, with both male and female veterans on board. On most trips, male veterans outnumber the female veterans, notably because many female veterans do not apply for the trip.
When the plan for an all-female flight was announced, there were so many responses that a waiting list was created.
All 167 participates on the flight were strictly veterans with no guardians accompanying them, a change from the normal trip routine. Instead, younger veterans partnered with older veterans throughout the day.
“They had a huge response because there were no service date restrictions,” Keene said.
The plane was filled with at least one World War II veteran, a number of Vietnam veterans, some young veterans, and a few women still in the National Guard and Reserves.
“It was pretty amazing—it is hard to put your feelings into words,” Keene said. “It was my first time going to Washington, D.C. and I am glad it was with an honor flight, because I think it made it more special.”
Keene is a native of the Engadine and Rexton areas, but later moved to Sault Ste. Marie and graduated from high school there. In the fall of 1979, she enlisted in the U.S. Army, where she trained in microwave satellites. She was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska from 1981 to 1983. After being discharged from the military, she worked for UPS and later Pike Distributing.
Mission XXVI participants visited the Vietnam Wall, the Korean War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, and the Abraham Lincoln Memorial.
A visit to the Military Women’s Memorial was a top priority. “The Military Women’s Memorial was very impressive,” she said. “They served us a luncheon there, and all of us on the flight became members of the memorial and they presented us with a certificate.”
Her most memorable and emotional experience took place on the flight home. Each veteran on board received an envelope full of cards and letters from family, friends, or complete strangers. This part of the trip was called mail call.
“Mail call was very important to every veteran whether they were in basic training, AIT, or they just went and got a letter from their post office box from their family. This was the biggest highlight of the trip for most of us. We cried—a lot,” she said.
Keene said she’ll never forget the trip, and she now wants to become active in the Upper Peninsula Honor Flight organization.
“I think as a post, we need to start sponsoring a veteran to go on the flight,” she said. “We can pick a veteran from our post that hasn’t went.”
“I think every veteran should go…I would like to see every veteran in our post go—I hope we can make that happen.”
