Deborah Hartman, whose father Johnny Bennett served in the Army during the Vietnam War, said that when her dad flew back from Vietnam, he and all the other servicemen had to sit in the back of the airplane with a sheet draped in front of them so the other passengers couldn’t see them.
Then, when the plane landed on U.S. soil, all the other passengers exited first before the servicemen. Again, this was done so they wouldn’t be seen by the civilian passengers.
On Thursday, Bennett and his brother, Harley Bennett, a Navy veteran who served in Vietnam, had a much different experience when they flew from Amarillo to Baltimore as members of the Texas Panhandle Honor Flight.
When the Honor Flight from Amarillo landed in Baltimore, the Bennetts and 83 other military veterans were met at the terminal by a warm welcome and a corps of bagpipe players.
Their take off and landing was covered by NewsChannel 10 and videos were posted on Facebook.
Hartman said she told her father before he left, “This is the way for you to be honored in the way you are supposed to be honored.”
The Honor Flight program raises money throughout the year so veterans can fly to Washington D.C., with all expenses paid, to visit the memorials that are meant to honor them. The cost to take each veteran is around $1,600.
Started in 2008, the first trips of the Texas Panhandle Honor Flights were filled with World War II and Korean War veterans. Now, the flights include more recent conflicts, such as Vietnam.
Hartman said the veterans will stay in Washington D.C. until Saturday. They will visit the Vietnam, Korean and WWII war memorials. They also will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at watch the changing of the guard at the tomb. Further, the veterans will meet with U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry and his staff.
Hartman said her father’s trip was paid for by Phillips 66. Harley Bennett’s flight was paid for by Ben E. Keith Co., which is a food and beverage distributor in Amarillo.
Hartman spoke to the News-Herald about her father and uncle with her brother, Dillon Bennett. The siblings live in Borger.
Both of the elder Bennetts volunteered for the service, they said.
Johnny Bennett was 17 when he joined in 1963. He served in the 25th Infantry until 1969. He received a Purple Heart and an Army Commendation Medal, they said.
The brother and sister told a funny story about how their uncle wound up in the Navy.
They said he was skipping school in Pampa. As he walked out of a business, he saw his mother walking out of another business across the street. Not to be seen, he ran into the business next door, which turned out to be a Navy recruiter office.
Hartman said her uncle was one of the youngest men at that time to serve as a quartermaster on a submarine.
After the service, Johnny Bennett joined the Borger Police Department and Harley Bennett, who now lives in Amarillo, became a deputy with the Hutchinson County Sheriff’s Office.
The brother and sister said that both men felt a calling to continue to serve the public after the war.
In contrast to the way Vietnam soldiers were treated poorly when they first returned to civilian life, Hartman said of their long-overdue recognition: “I’m proud for them to be honored in this way.”
