Honor Flight Searches for Minority WWII Vets
By: Cierra Putman
Updated: October 9, 2012
Honor Flight Rochester is now starting a campaign to find our area's remaining World War II veterans. Recently, the group started reaching out to the black community.
They're hope is to find African American vets like John Griffin of Brighton who served during the Second World War like .
"I was enlisted in 43 and I came out in 45," he said.
Griffin served stateside as a law clerk. Later, he moved to California where he shipped supplies to troops in the Pacific.
It was a time when black soldiers were not always treated with respect. Griffin saw black soldiers given sleeping tents, while European POW's were housed in barracks.
Because of his service, Griffin is receiving a free trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. with Honor Flight Rochester.
"Just to see those memorials and some of my comrades, look at the names and feel the wall," he said.
Honor Flight has taken more than a thousand vets to D.C., but only a handful were minority vets.
"It doesn't matter if they were members of the 332nd fighter squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen, or whether they were supply folks back home," Peter Glennon with Honor Flight Rochester said. "We want to recognize them."
The group hopes to speak to local churches and different community groups. Anywhere they can reach black and other minority World War II vets.
Griffin's looking forward to the trip. He hopes to find a special soldier's name on the memorial.
"His name was Sandy Booker," Griffin said. "He was engaged to the person I married."
Griffin's wife Mattie Rose stayed single years after Booker died fighting in Europe.
"I get a little bit emotional when I think about some of those things," Griffin said.
Thanks to Honor Flight, the 94-year-old now gets to pay his respects to a soldier with whom he will be forever linked.
Honor flight would like to hear from any groups that know of minority world war two vets who would like to go on the free trip to D.C.
Click here to visit the Honor Flight Rochester website or contact the group by calling 585-210-2115.
