Legion takes vets on memorial tour
by Sara Sedlacek · June 03, 2009 To an outsider, it may have looked a little strange to watch a grown man get choked up at the sight of a tank, but Bob Lehman remembered operating the Amphibian Tractor at the Battle of Okinawa during World War II.
“I got emotional when I saw that tractor,” said Lehman. “Kids and everybody were shaking our hands.”
Lehman, now 83, was only 19-years old when the battle took place but won’t soon forget it. The memories especially began rushing back when he saw an Amphibian Tractor just like the one he used to operate at the Marine Corp Memorial in Washington D.C. last month.
Lehman, along with 30 other veterans, traveled to Washington D.C., leaving Muscatine on May 13, for the World War II Honor Tour. The trip was arranged and paid for by the Muscatine American Legion.
“It was a wonderful trip and it didn’t cost us a penny,” Lehman said. “Our guide knew everything.”
The veterans visited the World War II Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the Marine Corp Memorial and other national monuements.
“The Marine Corp Memorial was the nicest,” Lehman said.
He also said he might be a little biased since he was a Marine. Enlisting at 18, Lehman served from 1944 to 1946 in the Pacific Theater of World War II. He was stationed on Saipan and he was on Tinian when the Enola Gay took off for Hiroshima and said he can say something no one else in World War II can say.
“My brother was stationed at Great Lakes and he typed up my discharge papers,” Lehman smiled.
Lehman was the youngest of the three brothers but the first to enlist. His brothers Fred and Walt soon followed. Walt was injured in the Phillipines and returned to West Liberty.
The veterans who traveled to Washington D.C. were escorted to the Moline Airport by a motorcycle patrol and a police escort. After their plane was delayed, they were placed on another plane from Minneapolis that was heading to Atlanta and had room for them.
“Since they had the mix-up, they gave us all a one-way ticket,” he explained. “We told them to keep the ticket and give it to the next batch of vets who will be going on the trip in October. It would save them having to raise $20,000.”
Volunteers raised money for their trip. The cost was about $1,100 per veteran and the Muscatine American Legion wanted to make sure not a dime came out of the vets’ pockets. Lehman didn’t know he was going until late in the process as he was on a waiting list and someone just happened to cancel. He collected cans, which helped pay for his portion of the trip. Of the 30 people on the trip, Lehman knew only one, a former classmate. West Liberty resident Howard Harmon also went on the trip.
Each traveler was equipped with a disposable camera and money for meals, all paid for by the American Legion of Muscatine. During their travels, the vets were given American Flags which had been flown over the Capitol. The flags were accompanied by certificates to authenticate the flags.
Of the 30 vets on the trip, 14 were in wheelchairs. Lehman said he was happy to help push the wheelchairs of his fellow veterans as they visited the memorials and monuements. He, like so many others, had never seen the sights and was just happy to be sharing the experience.
“We had a wonderful trip,” he said. “I hope they can make the funds for it in October.”
Lehman returned to West Liberty May 17, 2009. That day just happened to be the first day he went into the service 65 years ago.
Donations for the World War II Honor Tour leaving in October may be made to the Muscatine American Legion, 110 S. Houser St., Muscatine, IA 52761. |
