Olaf Lethrud takes an Honor Flight

BONNERS FERRY — “I shook more hands in the last two days...” veteran Olaf Lethrud says, pausing before finishing, “...than in the last 10 years.”

Lethrud was chosen for an Honor Flight, a two-day trip to Washington D.C. He described his experience as “unbelievable.” Inland Northwest Honor Flight is a regional hub of the national organization, Honor Flight, which was established in May 2009. Their mission is to transport war veterans to visit memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice.

Lethrud, an Air Force Military Police veteran, served his country in the Korean War from 1952-1953. He boarded the naval ship the USNS W.H. Gordon and began a 29-day voyage taking them through the Panama Canal, with the destination being the K-10 Chinhae Air Base in South Korea.

Lethrud, born in 1930, has spent his entire life in Bonners Ferry from the time he was 6 years old. He worked for 35 years in the sawmill as a saw filer and comes from a large family, with many of them also part of the military. His parents came from Norway, landing first in Minnesota, then North Dakota, and eventually Bonners Ferry. His only time away from Bonners Ferry was during his military career.

Inland Northwest Honor Flight, a nonprofit organization, is dedicated to the most senior World War II and Korean veterans, with special considerations to those with terminal illness. They are also starting to accept Vietnam veterans.

“A lot of people think the Korean War was not that long ago, but all of the Korean vets are in their 80s now,” says Lethrud.

Honor Flight assigns each veteran a guardian and Lethrud said everyone was taken good care of, every step of the way. In Washington he had a roommate, Jim Maley, who was also a Korean veteran. They visited all the memorials, but the one that left the greatest impact on Lethrud was the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.

The turnout of people to welcome the Honor Flight veterans in both Washington and Spokane awed Lethrud.

“When we got to Washington D.C., we didn’t expect it,” he said. “The whole area was full of people.”

The same happened again on their return trip to Spokane. He described the airport as “Just jammed. They were all lined up: big ones, little ones, old ones — just unbelievable.”

The Honor Flight participants are chosen from applications. Lethrud’s daughter, Calista Beir, submitted the request on his behalf. Lethrud would love to go on the Honor Flight again, but insists that he doesn’t want to bump someone else from the spot who has not had a chance.

For more information about the Inland Northwest Honor Flight, visit their website at: http://www.inwhonorflight.org