Honor Flight helper, 92, now writing sympathy notes

It's been six years since the first South Dakota Honor Flight left Sioux Falls in May 2009. Through a total of 12 Honor Flights, 1,400 area World War II veterans were given a chance to visit Washington, D.C., and the WWII Memorial there.

Ken Salisbury of Sioux Falls was on the first flight. The 92-year-old WWII veteran was so moved by that trip that he went on to serve as a guardian with other Honor Flight. He traveled a total of eight times, assisting veterans with special health needs. With 50 wheelchairs on every flight and 10 stops while in Washington, D.C., there were "lots of logistics," he says.

The final Honor Flight left June 3, 2011. Afterward, Salisbury felt he somehow needed to do more, and he was saddened to read of the deaths of veterans who were part of earlier Honor Flights. So he took it upon himself to start writing letters of condolence to each of their families.

Salisbury carefully reads the daily obituaries, looking for names of Honor Flight travelers, and then composes a personal letter to the veterans' families. So far, 183 World War II Honor Flight veterans have died.

The average age of Honor Flight veterans is 90, and Salisbury is writing at least one letter a week — sometimes as many as three.

"The veterans who have died since the Honor Flight shouldn't go unnoticed," Salisbury said. "I know I have outlived them, so I feel compelled to send a letter. It's a tough deal when a veteran dies. A special note is so nice for the family."

It's hard to track current addresses, so Salisbury sends the letters to the funeral homes to make sure every family receives one. Each letter has its own special message and references the veteran's specific service.

Gert Havelaar of Canton received one such letter from Salisbury after her 89-year-old husband, Cornelius (Corky), died Jan. 29, 2014. The WWII paratrooper, who served for three years, had been a passenger on the final Honor Flight.

Gert Havelaar sent a letter back to thank Salisbury for honoring her husband in his personal way.

"It was nice to know that his service in WWII was remembered," Havelaar said. "Corky was on the last Honor Flight, and it was one of the greatest experiences of his life to travel with the other veterans to see the WWII Memorial. It meant a lot to me that Ken took the time to write a special note."

The letters of condolence are not Salisbury's only gift for the veterans. The woodworker had also designed and created 1,600 wooden coin holders for the travelers to display a souvenir.

"Each Honor Flight veteran got a special coin the night before their flight," Salisbury said. "When I got back, I didn't like the fact that a memento so special just found its place in the bottom of a drawer."

WWII veterans' bond

WWII veterans will always have a special bond because of what they did for their country, Salisbury said. He joined the military at age 19, in 1942, and served as a certified radio operator before going overseas. Salisbury was part of a C-47 squadron that had the responsibility to fly and drop paratroopers into enemy territory in Europe and North Africa.

"So often some of our crew would be wounded or killed, and replacements would be short in getting to us. This meant we would sometimes be short of crew members and would require double duty," said Salisbury, who served four years.

Salisbury says WWII was difficult for many veterans to talk about. Still, every veteran had a single-minded purpose and shared a commonality. Everyone grew up in the Depression; most had no money, and what they did have was used to support the family.

"History was an important subject in school," Salisbury said. "We all learned a lot about the history of our country and appreciated what our ancestors did for our freedom. We also always listened to the radio so we were in touch with what was going on around the world."

Salisbury admits he didn't know where exactly Pearl Harbor was on the map, but he knew what its bombing meant to our country. And like so many others, he enlisted after the Pearl Harbor attack.

"Every person that could get in did," he said. "For the most part, every person went into the service feeling it was their duty."

'We were all of a kind'

Salisbury now serves on the Honor Flight Board with the Friends of Honor Flight. The group is planning a Flag Day celebration on June 14 at Veterans Memorial Park. The event will recognize the 70h anniversary of the end of WWII and the 40th anniversary of the end of Vietnam.

For Dave Landry, co-founder of South Dakota Honor Flight, Salisbury's wholehearted involvement in Friends of Honor Flight and his touching letters are wonderful but not surprising.

"Ken's dedication to the Honor Flight mission personifies the definition of America's greatest generation," said Landry.

But for Salisbury, it is something he just wants to do.

"I do all this because I want to help my fellow WWII veterans," he said. "We were all of a kind."