BROOKINGS – Brookings resident Leon Lengkeek, 86, joined 76 of his fellow veterans (75 men and one woman), their “guardians,” medical personnel and media members last month for a fast-paced flight to and from Washington, D.C., where they were recognized for their military service.
Lengkeek’s guardian was Lisa Steenson, owner of Ray’s Corner in downtown Brookings.
Dubbed Mission No. 3, the trip was sponsored and paid for by Midwest Honor Flight, a non-profit organization headquartered in Sioux Center, Iowa.
The entire group, coming from northeast Iowa, eastern South Dakota and southwest Minnesota, arrived in Sioux Falls on the afternoon of Sept. 24 and checked into the Sheraton Hotel. They were honored with a banquet and recognition.
After a brief night’s sleep, they were up at 2 a.m. Sept. 25, in line by 2:45 a.m. and bused to the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, where they were honored with a pre-flight gathering and send-off.
“It was just wonderful,” Steenson said. “There are people everywhere thanking them for their service.” The Sioux Falls Fire Department gave their plane a sendoff by spraying it with a water cannon.
“You’re in the plane and it sounds awesome,” Steenson said. “It was a salute.” And inside, the plane was well decorated in patriotic colors.
The flight to Washington, D.C., left at about 6 a.m. and was airborne about 2 1/2 hours. There were activities en route.
“They had different people telling their stories or singing songs from way back when. Yeah, it was cool,” she said. “The whole flight was entertaining.”
When the flight landed in D.C., airport personnel had American flags as the plane taxied in and again the plane was sprayed with a water cannon. Sen. John Thune greeted them. And then their tour of the capital began.
Sights visited included Arlington National Cemetery, where they saw the changing of the guard; memorials commemorating the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Abraham Lincoln; and Washington Monument. Additionally, they were driven around Washington and past the Pentagon and the White House.
Their sendoff, at about 5:30 p.m., from Washington included tap dancers at the airport. They had a three-hour flight, with a bit of turbulence, back to Sioux Falls, arriving about 8:30. Then came some final moments of recognition and thanks.
“We pulled right into the (Sioux Falls) Arena,” Steenson said. “They didn’t know we were going there. That was just cool.” Several bands were on hand to greet them.
“They were greeted by many, many family members, past Honor Flight veterans and volunteers,” she added. “There were well over 1,000 people there. There was so much emotion. They (the veterans) were so thankful. You could just see it in their faces. Wow! For us?”
“It was fast-paced,” Leengkeek, a Korean War-era Army veteran who served from October 1952 to October 1954, said, as he cited visits to the memorials and monuments noted above. He added, “There were too many to mention.”
He especially appreciated the bands and festivities that greeted the veterans when they returned to Sioux Falls and that many people made monetary contributions to make Mission 3 possible. He said he had received no such recognition during or after his years in the Army.
Contact John Kubal at jkubal@brookingsregister.com.
