![]() ![]() Unbeknownst to him, his life and the course of the country were about to change. He was eating his pancake breakfast in the mess hall at the Navy base on Oahu, Hawaii. Army veteran remembers Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 70 years ago Mount Airy Granite was used to build the Memorial. ![]() I was lucky enough to see the World War II Memorial this summer on my trip to Washington, but this trip with the veterans will not only be the trip of a lifetime, but one that will honor the men who made our country what it is today. I will be charged with helping three veterans from Elkin and reporting back to you, our readers, on what the experience was like. It costs $500 per veteran and $200 per guardian to make these flights happen. Many never got to visit their National WWII Memorial that opened in 2004 59 years after the war ended. World War II veterans once numbered 16 million, but the numbers are dropping at the rate of 1,200 per day. So now as the first veterans leave on their first Flight of Honor on Saturday, I will be watching with great intensity to see how it goes. I remember being flooded with emotion over the honor of being chosen. 28 Flight of Honor as a guardian and journalist. ![]() After talking with me for a few minutes, he said I could go on the Oct. Īfter expressing a desire to go on a flight, I got a phone call later that night from one of the organizers. I highly recommend the video to anyone who wants to get a glimpse into what these flights are all about. They told me to watch a video that showed the founders of the Honor Air flights. News anchor Cameron Kent will be onboard the flight along with veterans and their guardians.ĭuring my research for the story following Leachs Rotary presentation, I talked to officials with the Flight of Honor. ![]() There will be another live broadcast at 8:30 p.m. of the flight leaving Piedmont Triad International Airport on the first Triad Flight of Honor. WXII Channel 12 will have a live broadcast starting at 5:30 a.m. shows during the war, will board a flight to D.C. This Saturday, Leach, other Surry County WWII veterans and Betty Lynn, who performed in U.S.O. While World War II veterans have been notoriously silent about their valor and sacrifice for our country, one man decided to start taking veterans who had never been to see the memorial or were physically or financially unable to go to see the memorial before it was too late.Īt a recent Mount Airy Rotary meeting Jack Leach, the oldest living Surry County survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor, spoke briefly about his time during the war. This Sunday, local World War II veterans will be leaving Greensboro flying to Washington, D.C., to see their monument for the first time on the Triad Flight of Honor. Online condolences may be made at The greatest honor The Leach family would like to extend their thanks to the staff of Ridgecrest Assisted Living Center and Mountain Valley Hospice and Palliative Care for their care and kindness. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the charity of the donor’s choice. The Leach family will visit in the Parlor from 1:00 PM until the hour of the service on Sunday. Interment will follow in Oakdale Cemetery, with graveside rites performed by VFW Memorial Honor Guard. The funeral service will be held Sunday January 24, 2016, at 2:00 PM, at Central United Methodist Church in Mount Airy with Rev. Leach was preceded in death by his wife, Virginia Poore Leach a great-grandson, Kaden James Dowell a sister, Minnie Lou Leach Key and two brothers, William Leach and James Roland Leach. He is survived by a daughter and son-in-law, Jane and Jerry Snow of Mount Airy a son and daughter-in-law, Walter and Sara Leach of Mount Airy five grandchildren, Chris Snow of Montgomery, AL, Pam Leach of Pilot Mountain, Lauren Simmons and her husband, Kevin, of Huntersville, Rebecca Dowell of Mount Airy, and Allison Rhinehardt and her husband, Brett, of Charlotte and 12 great-grandchildren. He was a past master of Granite Masonic Lodge #322 AF and AM, a member of the VFW Memorial Honor Guard, and a member of the Central United Methodist Church. He retired from the City of Mount Airy as the supervisor of the water plant. Jack proudly served our country in the United States Army during World War II, the Korean Conflict and was a survivor of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Leach was born October 14, 1919, in Surry County, the son of the late Joseph Roland and Luella Johnson Leach. Jack Lee Leach, 96, of Mount Airy, passed away Monday, January 18, 2016, at The Ridgecrest Assisted Living Center. ![]()
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