Goodfellow Joint Service Color Guard honors veterans departing for Washington, D.C. Published Sept. 19, 2014 By 1st Lt. Nathaniel Roesler 17 Training Wing Public Affairs GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Goodfellow Joint Service Color Guard honored 97 veterans of World War II, Korea, and other foreign wars who departed Sept. 17 from Midland International Airport to visit Washington, D.C. The Texas Permian Basin Honor Flight raised the funds and organized the trip to honor veterans who would otherwise not have a chance to visit the memorials dedicated to the wars they fought in. "You know, the honor starts right here at this airport on departure morning, and I saw tears in the eyes of many of these veterans as they walked by the Color Guard," said Jack R. Barnes, American Fallen Warrior Memorial Foundation president, the Honor Flight's parent organization. The veterans were first honored at a dinner and ceremony Sept. 16 where the Color Guard posted the colors. The Color Guard also provided honors Wednesday morning at a 6 a.m. sendoff along with local honor guards from various civilian and military organizations. One veteran being honored, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Don Byrne, was an intelligence officer in Vietnam. "I graduated from Baylor ROTC and went directly to the Armed Forces Intelligence School in Denver and then straight to Vietnam as a Second Lieutenant," said Byrne. "It was sort of intimidating." The veteran felt lucky to be brought on the trip. "It's a real honor to get to go and see the monuments at the capital with all of these heroes," said Byrne. "There aren't many World War II veterans left, so it's good they get to go see the memorials built in their honor." The veterans will travel back from the capital region Sept. 19 after visiting war memorials and meeting with government officials.
