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Flight honors veterans for their service

Jacksonville Journal-Courier - 10/9/2017

Oct. 09--The Honor Flight Network sends around 20,000 veterans from all over the country to Washington, D.C., each year using only donated dollars.

As the program wraps up for 2017, one last flight -- on Oct. 17 -- will carry three veterans from Jacksonville to the nation's capital: Jerry McArtor, Roger Myers and Dean Taylor.

McArtor is a Jacksonville native and Vietnam-era U.S. Army veteran. He attended Franklin Elementary School and graduated from high school in 1959. Feeling he wasn't going to college, he took the route many were taking at the time and entered the military.

"After basic, I was in Missouri for a while. Then they sent me to a missile site in Chicago," McArtor said. "I was in fire control at a missile site off of Lakeshore Drive. Fire control, meaning launching the missiles ... The closest thing I got to combat was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. For one night we had to sleep with our boots on in case we had to launch a missile."

Following his tenure with the military, he worked for two years at a bank before going to work at GTE -- now Verizon -- from which he retired after 30 years. He spent much of his time with his wife, Mary Ruth, and his adopted son, Gary Lee, who will be his guardian -- a friend or family member -- for the flight.

McArtor said he's looking forward to seeing all of the memorials, but particularly the Vietnam Memorial. He wants to see if he can find the names of some people he knew in high school.

He had mixed feelings about applying for the Honor Flight, since he didn't see combat. Program representatives told him that experiencing combat wasn't the important thing. What was important was that he -- and many others -- were willing and ready to go to combat if needed.

Taylor was another of those who were ready and willing to fight but ultimately did not end up on the front lines. Where he did end up was at Caterpillar in Peoria after his 1947 graduation from White Hall High School, following some time at Patterson High School.

While at Caterpillar, the company gave employees the opportunity to enlist in the Army.

"I knew I was single, available, unattached and they had a good unit there at Caterpillar," Taylor said. "I figured, why not?"

In September 1950, Taylor was called on to report to Germany to help with preparations for the Korean War. As part of the 403rd Base Depot, Taylor helped put together the base of operations in Kaiserslautern, Germany, where he and the company would test heavy machinery to make sure it was ready for operation.

"I had a group of men and we were unloading Bailey bridges (pre-fabricated bridges) and they had pretty long I-beams," Taylor said. "In my crew, I had a former U-boat commander ... One day during our noon break I had stacked the I-beams up and he proceeded to crawl up that and it came off on him. He broke both his legs on that I-beam. He learned a lesson there pretty quick."

Taylor came back from his service to continue working and to spend time with his wife, Donna, and sons, Robert D. and William E., the latter of whom will serve as Taylor's guardian for the flight. Although Taylor missed his scheduled flight in September because of medical issues, Honor Flight managed to get him on this last flight for the year.

The veteran said he's interested in seeing as many monuments as he can, and possibly the White House.

Though Roger Meyers couldn't be reached, as of Friday, the Honor Flight program indicated that he served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War.

These three will be accompanied by 79 other veterans and will return to the Springfield Airport at 9 p.m.Oct. 17. The public is encouraged by Honor Flight to "pack the port" to welcome home the veterans with any patriotic gear they might have, such as red, white and blue balloons, posters and flags to show their appreciation for those who have served.

Nick Draper can be reached at 217-245-6121, ext. 1223, or on Twitter @nick_draper.

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