“I spent over 50 years in silence. I never talked about Vietnam, but this Honor Flight gave me some closure,” Paul Okula wrote to Jamie Bowden, the secretary of Honor Flight Long Island, after flying with the group in June to visit the war memorials in Washington, D.C.
The nonprofit flies aging veterans and their companions to Washington free of charge. Originally set up to take World War II veterans to the memorial for that war, Honor Flight, which has branches around the country, now transports veterans of the Korean War, Vietnam War, and other conflicts to D.C. as a way to “honor America’s veterans for their service and sacrifice.”
And this year, after putting many of its flights on hold because of the pandemic, it has resumed them. Among the East Enders who have traveled with the group this year are Robert Grisnik, 80, of Southampton, who served in the Air Force in the Vietnam War, and Carl Hettiger, 71, of East Hampton, who served in the Army in Vietnam.
On July 16, Honor Flight Long Island will raise money to take still more veterans on this trip with its Listen to the Wind benefit at the Sagaponack Farm Distillery.
Evelyn Kandel of Glen Cove, the Nassau County poet laureate and a Marine Corps sergeant from 1951 to 1953, will be the guest of honor. Ms. Kandel was one of the first women to enlist in the Marines. She was a spokeswoman for Women Marines in Washington, worked with Marine Corps recruiters in California, and became a poster and commemorative stamp model for service recruitment. After her discharge she earned a master’s degree at Columbia University on the G.I. Bill and went on to become a teacher, artist, and poet.
The July 16 gala, which runs from 5 to 10 p.m., is named after Ms. Kandel’s poem by the same name. It will include dinner, dancing, and a silent auction. Tickets cost $250 and can be purchased online at listentothewindhfli.org.
