Smithville Veterans Reflect on ‘Trip of a Lifetime’

By Kristen Meriwether, Publisher

This story is about six Smithville-area Vietnam War veterans (Steve Peeper, Dennis Inman, Bennie Rooks, Rich Murray, Art Ambrose and James Windom) Honor Flight Austin trip on Oct. 24-25. Please read our pre-flight story from Oct. 24 here to get some background on the trip.  

When the Honor Flight landed at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on Oct. 25, the plane received a water salute from airport firefighters — the second such salute in as many days for the group.

As the six Smithville Vietnam War veterans stepped off the plane, they carried priceless memories of their whirlwind trip to Washington, letters from a tear-soaked in-flight mail call, and a few beers in their bellies that the airline graciously covered.

Other than a ride back home to Smithville, they weren’t expecting anything else.

But Honor Flight Austin wasn’t finished with the surprises.

“When we came around the corner I could hear a little cheering,” Bennie Rooks recalled in an interview after their return. “When we came around, there were 300-400 people there.”

Friends, family and strangers who just happened to be at the Austin-Bergstrom on a rainy Saturday night lined the corridor, cheering and waving flags. Rooks’ wife broke through the crowd for a long embrace.

Rich Murray noticed how many in the crowd were his age, part of the same generation that turned their backs on the veterans when they originally returned home from war.

“Our generation caught up with us,” he said. “It was good to see them out there, catching up with us. It was a good feeling.”

They had been gone less than 48 hours, but in that time the Honor Flight, members of our community, and total strangers at the airport gave our Smithville veterans something they had waited 55 years to hear: Welcome home. Thank you for your service.

“It was the trip of a lifetime,” Rooks said. Everyone at the table agreed.

Laying the Wreath

At Arlington National Cemetery, the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of the highest civilian and military honors. You’ve probably seen a photo of a president or head of state laying the presidential wreath on Veterans Day or Memorial Day.

But on the chilly morning of Oct. 25, the honor of laying a wreath belonged to 78-year-old Army combat veteran Dennis Inman of Smithville.

This wasn’t just laying any wreath, at any spot. Inman, along with three others from the Honor Flight, was given the opportunity to walk on the sacred ground around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“Being able to walk up to that special spot of land…to me, I could never do anything better,” Inman said. “It was special.”

After learning of his surprise assignment, Inman said he began shaking like a leaf. It wasn’t the cool October morning, but nerves. In addition to getting to walk on hallowed ground, he would have to hold a salute for several minutes during the playing of Taps. His thoughts went to both of his injured shoulders, hoping they would hold up.

“I prayed to God the whole time that I could stand up, don’t fall down, don’t trip,” Inman said.

With his five Smithville VFW brothers looking on, Inman executed the wreath ceremony perfectly, including holding his salute the entire time. Two of the Sentinels even shook his hand after.

“That was one of the most inspiring things I’ve seen on the whole damn trip,” Art Ambrose said. “I’m really proud of that man.”

You can watch the entire ceremony below:

Visiting The Wall

The purpose of Honor Flight Austin is to ensure veterans can visit the memorials built to recognize their service and sacrifice, for free. And for most of the Smithville veterans it was the first time to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Smithville group spread out along the long black granite wall, each one taking in their own experience. For Peeper, that led him to find a cousin who was killed in action.

“For me, it [visiting The Wall] was emotional. I found my cousin’s name,” Peeper said, pausing as he reflected on the emotion of the moment.

“I saw it there [the name]...I can’t even talk about it,” Peeper said, choking up. “It was a good way to remember him.”

Rooks went to the panels representing the last few months of his tour, which was 1970-71. It was in those final few months that most of his friends were hit, with three making the ultimate sacrifice.

Rooks said he intended to make a rubbing of the names of those friends he’d lost, but found it too tough to do.

“It just brought back a lot of memories I had already suppressed,” he said. “And it all came back.”

Murray understood the pain.

“It’s a hard thing to explain,” he said. “If you weren’t there, there’s no way to explain it.”

This was the second visit for Murray, who had gone 10 years ago, and he said this time was a little easier. He looked for a Medal of Honor recipient as well as a friend from high school.

“We weren’t even a year out of high school and he was already KIA (killed in action),” Murray said.

For James Windom, who is the chaplain for the VFW, the experience was extremely touching. As he was taking in The Wall, a gentleman he’d never met came up to him and, realizing he was a chaplain, let 50 years of pain go.

“To be able to be there, as much for him as for me…there was that brotherhood happening right there in front of The Wall, with everything it represents and is,” Windom said. “That was really awesome for me.”

Mail Call

About an hour into the Honor Flight back to Austin, the organizers yelled, “Mail Call” and began handing out manila envelopes to each of the veterans. It had been over 50 years since they had participated in the ritual, but everyone remembered it.

Inside the envelope family and friends wrote personal letters and cards to show their appreciation for the sacrifices the veterans had made.

“About two letters in and I was bawling my eyes out,” Murray said, and Peeper agreed.

As they read the letters the cabin went silent.

“Every one of us was quiet as hell, tears running down,” Inman said. “But I couldn’t help but say, ‘I got one from the IRS!’ and the whole plane laughed.”

The trip was only two days, but every one of the veterans described a shift in them after coming home.

“Everything was so special, from the day we left until we got back,” Inman said. “I felt so much better when I got back.”

For Windom, the experience was healing.

“All the way through, it’s so relieving,” he said. “It helped me heal. From that moment [the send-off] throughout, I healed. I healed a lot, and I’m still healing from the way we were greeted and respected.”

He took a breath before continuing: “The PTSD I did and do suffer from…now I’ve got something to conflict it with. So when I get wrapped up in what happened, I can look at what was shown to me on this trip. That, to me, is what spoke volumes.”