Edgar E. Willis took part in Honor Flight on October 5, 2011. Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They transport our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials.
Three generations of his family watched last Wednesday as Mr. Willis and 77 other World War II veterans returned to Toledo, Ohio after spending the day in Washington D.C., touring the memorials and then visiting Arlington National Cemetery on a trip paid for by Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio.
Besides taking part in Honor Flight, at 96, Edgar wrote a memoir about his World War II experience, Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform. This memoir does not proceed chronologically but details how a civilian converted into a naval officer reacted to navy life. He found that the first captain of the USS Alaska was a rank incompetent. The second, who commanded the USS Alaska during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, performed his duties brilliantly. Further, the author found that the navy was governed by some rules that can be described as quaint or illogical. The Alaska suffered only one wartime casualty, but the author was in close proximity to where 300 ships were sunk and thousands of young Americans lost their lives.
Get Edgar's memoir at Amazon.com: Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform
Three generations of his family watched last Wednesday as Mr. Willis and 77 other World War II veterans returned to Toledo, Ohio after spending the day in Washington D.C., touring the memorials and then visiting Arlington National Cemetery on a trip paid for by Honor Flight of Northwest Ohio.
Besides taking part in Honor Flight, at 96, Edgar wrote a memoir about his World War II experience, Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform. This memoir does not proceed chronologically but details how a civilian converted into a naval officer reacted to navy life. He found that the first captain of the USS Alaska was a rank incompetent. The second, who commanded the USS Alaska during the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, performed his duties brilliantly. Further, the author found that the navy was governed by some rules that can be described as quaint or illogical. The Alaska suffered only one wartime casualty, but the author was in close proximity to where 300 ships were sunk and thousands of young Americans lost their lives.
Get Edgar's memoir at Amazon.com: Civilian in an Ill-fitting Uniform
Visit the links below, watch the videos, and read more about his Honor Flight trip:
Toledo Blade: 98-year-old becomes oldest from area to make trip to WWII Memorial
Bowling Green Sentinel Tribune: WWII vet, 98, makes Honor Flight trip
FoxToledo.com: Honor Flight shuttles oldest vet to DC
WTOL.com – Channel 11 Toledo: 2011’s last Honor Flight takes off for Washington D.C.
God bless our troops and God Bless America: Honor Flight Network
Of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened our very existence as a nation—and as a culturally diverse, free society. Now, with over one thousand World War II veterans dying each day, our time to express our thanks to these brave men and women is running out.
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