THE PAPER Proudly Serving Wabash County Since 1977
April 18, 2012
Honor Flight Program continues to honor World War II veterans with trip to memorial by Brent Swan In only three years, the Honor Flight Northeast Indiana program has honored over 350 World War II veterans with complimentary, all-expenses paid trips to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The program, funded with private donations, aims to allow World War II veterans the opportunity to visit the monument dedicated in their honor. “For a long time, Washington D.C. had all kinds of monuments, but always lacked a true World War II memorial,” Max Robison, vice president of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana said. “After it opened in 2004, I began to contribute to
it myself.” After visiting the memorial first-hand, Robison saw the impact it made on those that had served. “I knew of this program in Fort Wayne and that they were planning a trip so I volunteered to go as a guardian,” Robison said. “My uncle and my father were both World War II veterans and I thought I could do this as a tribute to them.” On the day of each flight, veterans are appointed a guardian with whom they tour the memorials. “Some of the guys don’t like the idea of having a guardian,” Robison said. “Even though most of these guys are 90-95 years old, they are remarkably spry and independent.”
WORLD WAR II VETERAN Robert Sparling (left) and his Honor Flight guardian, Max Robison, stand in front of the World War II memorial in Washington D.C. on Oct. 24, 2009. Prior to his death in January of 2010, Sparling was one of 350 World War II veterans able to take part in the Honor Flight program, which flies veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the World War II memorial at no cost. (photo provided) “We meet at the Air National Guard Base
Spring Cleanup Wabash: Week of April 23 North Manchester: All items must be set out by April 30 • Items picked up from tree lawns only – no pickup will take place in alleys • Items must be in place by 7 a.m. on day of pickup • Piles of items should be no larger than 4 feet by 8 feet • Brush will not be picked up during this time
in Fort Wayne,” Robison continued. “We used to fly on a 50-seat chartered regional type plane, but since we’ve moved to the Air National Guard Base we charter an A320.” With the larger airplane, Robison said the organization is able to transport nearly twice as many vet-
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wheelchairs and assistance,” Robison said. “The flight itself though is only an hour and 15 minutes to D.C.” After landing at Reagan International Airport in Washington D.C., the group heads to the WWII Memorial first. “We spend about an hour at the memorial
itself,” Robison said. “The veterans like to see the pillars representing the states and the battle memorials as well.” After spending time at the WWII Memorial, the group then eats a box lunch on the bus while driving around the city, before stopping by the (continued on page 5)
Save-A-Lot Food Store to fill former MainStreet Market location The building that most recently housed MainStreet Market will soon be filled with a Save-A-Lot Food Store, according to Jeff Sturges, president of the Fort Wayne chain of Save-ALot. The company has 1,400 stores nationwide. Currently,
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erans per trip. “By doing that, we are able to narrow our list down quite a bit,” Robison said. At the base, the Air National Guard prepares a breakfast for the veterans before boarding the flight. “Loading the plane takes quite a bit of time since we have a lot of guys that need
the nearest locations are Peru, Kokomo and Rochester. The Wabash location will mark the 10th store owned by the Fort Wayne chain. Sturges projects the store to open around mid-July. He told The Paper that the company chose to locate a Save-A-Lot in Wabash based on the demo-
In Memoriam Fred Bryant, 51 Debra Cooper, 57 Carole Fant, 77 Loreen Hoover, 84
Deward Hurt, 80 Dorothy Keiffer, 92 Marjorie Ridenour, 76 Kimberly Selleck, 52
graphics of the town. According to their website, Save-A-Lot delivers savings to customers up to 40 percent compared to conventional grocery stores. For more information about Save-A-Lot, visit their website at http://save-alot.com.
Vol. 35, No. 5 Lois Singleton, 86 Robert Smalley, 88 John Swango, 64
PO Box 603, Wabash, IN 46992 (260) 563-8326