On his 104th birthday, World War II Marine Robert “Bob†Schultz and his wife, Shirley, enjoy a moment with a Southwest Airlines pilot as Schultz opened letters from his family during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Schultz served in the Pacific from 1942-45 and raised his family in Belleville. Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization that brings veterans to the nation's capital free of charge to visit monuments and war memorials.Â
Beth Miller talks with Air Force veteran George Brawley as she serves as his guardian during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Miller had planned to join her father, Arthur Sander, on an earlier trip last October, but he was diagnosed with bone cancer two days before the trip and died in November.
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“I’m trying to exorcise all my ghosts,†said Air Force veteran Harold Feldman as he receives support from fellow Army Vietnam veteran Dave Erker, left, at the Vietnam Wall during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Feldman was able to find the one name he wanted to touch, that of his neighbor Michael Alan Powell, who was killed on July 4, 1968.
Eighth-grade students from Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to World War II Marine Robert “Bob†Schultz on his 104th birthday during a chance encounter near the Lincoln Memorial during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that brings veterans to Washington, D.C. free of charge to visit monuments and war memorials.Â
Members of a Navy ceremonial guard prepare to fold a flag to present to Vietnam veteran Frank Schodrowski in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Eighty-eight veterans made the first trip of 2026 for Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization that brings veterans to Washington, D.C., free of charge to visit monuments and war memorials.
“They threw rocks and tomatoes at my brother when he returned from Vietnam in 1968,†said Diana Reagan, second from left, as she holds a photo of her brother Bill Faulkner, alongside his wife, Patricia, and other family members, as they welcome back 88 military veterans to St. Louis Lambert International Airport to conclude the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. The Faulkners live in Wildwood.
“Life is full of adventures and (Vietnam) was my adventure. After that i can do anything.,†said Michael Cracchiolo a Navy corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam during 1968-69, as he is welcomed to Washington, D.C. at Reagan International Airport during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
“I was supposed to be with my dad but he passed away in October,†said Beth Miller, center, pushing veteran George Brawley past cherry blossoms along the Potomac River. “Then I met George.†Miller and Brawley joined Steve Bentrup and his daughter Lauren Williams during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Miller had planned to join her father, Arthur Sander, on an earlier trip last October, but he was diagnosed with bone cancer two days before the trip and died in November.
Jeffrey Ashton, left, stands with his father Jim Ashton as they discover the name of Jim’s high school friend Edward K. Peters on the Vietnam Wall during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Ashton, who served in Vietnam in 1972 as a Navy corpsman with the Marines, said it was his first visit to the Wall. “I avoided it. It’s the horror of everything.†Pushing his father Bob Sappington, right, is his son Robert Sappington.Â
Arlington Cemetery headstones are reflected in the sunglasses of Vietnam veteran James “Jim†McInroe of Cadet, Mo., as he tours the cemetery with his wife and fellow Vietnam-era veteran, Joann Sorenson, during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
“Life is full of adventures and (Vietnam) was my adventure. After that i can do anything.,†said Michael Cracchiolo a Navy corpsman with the Marines in Vietnam during 1968-69, as he watches a departing Marine honor guard during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
Air Force veteran Eddie Peterson of Black Jack watches the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Peterson was a combat mechanic during his time in Vietnam from 1966-70.
Marine Steven Hakanson, Sr. gets help as he works through a list on names he wanted to find on the Vietnam Wall from his service in 1966-68, during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Hakanson lives in St. Louis.
Retired Marine Major Jason Frei watches the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026. Frei, who served as a volunteer from Edward Jones on the flight, lost part of his arm in the Iraq war when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his vehicle.
Vietnam War veterans Bob Sappington, left, and John Meier have dinner in front of a statue of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
World War II Marine Robert “Bob†Schultz is lifted onto a tour bus during the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight on Wednesday, April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Schultz served in the Pacific from 1942-45 and raised his family in Belleville.
David Hall, who served in the Navy during the Vietnam War, salutes active duty service members as he is welcomed home at St. Louis Lambert International Airport on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, to conclude the 114th Greater St. Louis Honor Flight. The program flies veterans to Washington, D.C., to see war memorials. Hall lives in Collinsville.
