Lombard resident Michiels takes part in Honor Flight Chicago trip to Washington to honor veterans
By Mike Sandrolini
Lombardian staff reporter
Honor Flight Chicago (HFC), a 501(c) 3 organization founded in 2008, is part of a network of Honor Flight hubs throughout the country. It recognizes senior war veterans by flying them to Washington D.C.—all expenses paid—for a one-day tour of the national memorials built in their honor.
In June, two Lombard residents who are Vietnam War veterans—Rich Michiels and Bob Walker—were among the 112 veterans from the Korean and Vietnam wars who boarded HFC Flight 115 out of Midway Airport (four Korean War and 108 Vietnam War vets).
The vets boarded their flight at 4 a.m. Wednesday, June 19, and landed at Dulles International Airport in Washington at around 9:00. Once in Washington, Michiels and his fellow vets were greeted along their route by several groups before proceeding to the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Michiels, a U.S. Navy veteran who served two tours of duty in Vietnam, said the group of veterans also visited the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
“Since I had never been to D.C. before, just being able to be up-close to these monuments and memorials made me feel proud,” said Michiels, who’s lived in Lombard with his wife, Ginny, for 53 years.
Every veteran on Honor Flight Chicago is accompanied by a guardian for the day. The guardian can be a family member. Michiels’ daughter, Julie, served as his guardian.
“I was honored to be able to join my father on his Honor Flight,” said Julie, who participated in 2½ hours of training to be a guardian a few days before the flight. “The entire day was about showing appreciation for the veterans who didn’t get so much of that when they came home (from Vietnam). In spite of the difficult circumstances, they endured and survived.
“There were so many thankful people, from the volunteers, to friends and family, to complete strangers, throughout the day. It was very emotional for me; I can only imagine how overwhelmed my father and all of the veterans felt with the kindness that everyone showed that day. I will never forget it; it was a truly special day.”
Charles D. Pekny
While at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Rich and Julie located the name of Charles D. Pekny, a Lombard native who served with the U.S. Army 4th Calvary Regiment, 25th Infantry Division 1st Platoon. Pekny, who was stationed in Binh Duong Province near Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), was killed July 25, 1968, in an ambush. He was a Purple Heart recipient.
They located his name on the wall, which lists the names of more than 58.000 service men and women who lost their lives during the war. Then, they rubbed his name off the wall using a special piece of paper given to them by the Honor Flight.
When the veterans returned to Midway that evening, Cindy Keith, her daughter, Katie and Cindy’s two granddaughters, Audrey and Addie, were there to greet Rich.
Cindy is Pekny’s sister and also Richard’s neighbor. She was handed the paper with her brother’s name on it.
“She (Cindy) lives no more than a block-and-a-half from me,” Rich said. “It was very emotional for her to receive this piece of paper.”
Applying for Honor Flight
Rich said he was encouraged by his neighbor, Dennis Pulchinski, a Vietnam veteran himself, to fill out an application for an opportunity to go on an Honor Flight.
“Dennis encouraged me to apply so he and I could be buddies on the flight,” Rich said.
Rich applied in 2020, but all Honor Flights were cancelled that year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was put on a waiting list, and didn’t hear back from Honor Flight Chicago until late summer/early fall of last year.
“They were starting up again, and me and Dennis were back on the list (to fly to Washington),” Rich said. “They didn’t say (that) this year (they would be flying) ‘but hopefully in 2024, you’ll go,’ and it happened. I was elated.”
Sadly, Pulchinski passed away in March.
“We were going to be buddies on the same flight,” Rich said. “He was a good friend. We go back probably about 30 years.”
Serving in Vietnam
Rich served two tours of duty in Vietnam—his first occurred between July, 1966 and January/February of 1967, and the second was from December, 1969 until January, 1970. Prior to enlisting with the U.S. Navy, he was an electrician apprentice. Being in an apprenticeship enabled him to get an E3 rating, and he was designated as a construction electrician with the Navy.
After completing boot camp, Rich was assigned to a mobile construction battalion (MCB). He was stationed at Port Hueneme (California) Naval Base and then sent to Da Nang, which was a major base area for United States and South Vietnamese forces during the war.
In Da Nang, Rich was part of a power line crew. Power line crews were responsible for climbing power polls, and stringing power cables and power lines. He and his fellow crew members worked under dangerous conditions.
“There was always a chance of the enemy overrunning you or being sniped at,” he said. “At night, you had to worry about the enemy approaching the camp.”
Rich said he and the crew to which he was assigned “were pretty lucky” not to face enemy fire.
“A lot of the other guys (who were) not in our battalion, they would get encroached at night and had to use their weapons,” he said. “Being in the first part of the war (in 1966), the Viet Cong were not as organized. We weren’t on a front line, even though Da Nang was close to the DMZ (the demilitarized zone, which divided North and South Vietnam at that time). But being in a big city like Da Nang, you never knew who was your enemy.”
After completing his second tour of duty in Vietnam, Rich said he “picked up where I left off with the apprenticeship program.” He worked as an electrician in Cook County and Chicago for 45 years.
Getting the opportunity to join other veterans on HFC Flight 115 is an honor Rich said he will always remember.
“As I’ve been telling people, there are so many adjectives that describe this trip,” he said. “It was educational, adventurous and emotional. In 1970, we didn’t have the welcome that I saw on the 19th of June. The welcome home at Midway that night, I can’t imagine how lovely it was for the guys on that flight
