Honor Flight Day for Capt. Paul Gorrell
NOTE
It was first published in the Facebook Note, which was not publicly accessible. Suddenly, Facebook removed the Note feature. Luckily, I have a hard copy, so I inserted it in the Substack feature for you.
[Delivered by Kristina McBride Purnhagen at the Memorial Service for Captain Gorrell in Dayton, Ohio, on September 9, 2013, with the addition of pictures on his October 3, 2009 flight]
My name is Kristi, and I am Paul’s great-niece. As a child, I lived close to Paul and Faith’s house and was lucky enough to spend much time with them growing up. They were like a third set of grandparents to me, their home a second home in my life.
I remember many things about their house: the smell of cooking food, the crunch of Faith chewing ice cubes as she sipped her iced tea, and always the sound of a game on the television. To say that Paul was a sports fan is a real understatement. I can also vividly recall the brain teasers that he used to solve, my personal favorite being the Rubix Cube. I’m sure my child hands mixed up hours of his hard work more than once, and I can say that he was always kind and gentle. But those are a child’s memories. Paul was much more than his love of sports and the ability to solve a puzzle. He was a teacher and a devoted husband, father, and grandfather. He was also a soldier. As an adult, I now understand the importance of time spent in the military and the sacrifices made for his family.
Howard Gorrell has asked me to read a letter written by Bill Nicklas, Vice President of the Honor Flight Dayton, detailing Paul’s trip to Washington, D.C., nearly three years ago. [October 3, 2009.]
Here is what he had to say when he learned of today’s service:
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“I am sorry I am not able to attend your memorial service to say goodbye in person to the veteran, patriot, and loving father, Paul Edward Gorrell, who I had the privilege of meeting almost three years ago while on an Honor Flight trip to Washington, DC.
The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit charity whose mission is to get as many military veterans as possible to Washington to visit their national memorials. Honor Flight believes that it is essential that our veterans see for themselves how those who made the ultimate sacrifice are being remembered and how they will be remembered for their service to our country.
Paul Gorrell was ultimately one of our success stories. In 2004, like many of these humble, proud, dedicated veterans, he was caring for an ailing wife and would not leave her side, not even for the 50th reunion of his Army unit and a visit to the then-new WWII memorial. After four years of cajoling and pleading from his son, Howard, he agreed to apply for an Honor Flight with us.
At 92 years of age, Paul was the oldest veteran who went with us on that beautiful fall day, October 3, 2009. He arrived at Dayton International Airport at 4:30 AM to get an early start on a day dedicated to him and 38 other WWII veterans, mere children in their mid-80s, compared to Paul.
Upon arriving at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport, he was greeted by a crowd of cheering people, many in military uniform, who wanted to thank him for his service. Even more special was that his son Howard and his granddaughter Maria were there to be his Guardians for the day.
As I mentioned, it was a beautiful fall day: blue sky, bright sunshine, temperature in the low 80s, and low humidity. However, we noticed that Paul seemed a little warm and uncomfortable. When asked about it, he explained that he had seen a weather forecast indicating it would be in the 40s, so Paul had worn a warm sweater and pants to be sure he kept warm. Since the actual temperature was twice that, we quickly helped him adjust his clothing to be more comfortable.
Paul met Senator Robert Dole at the WWII memorial, who comes out for every Honor Flight he can to visit with his WWII comrades. During their conversation, we were informed that Senator Dole’s 10th Mountain Division fought alongside Paul’s 85th Division in Italy during the war.
Howard told us that he had asked Paul to close his eyes to rest between the points of interest since he had gotten up very early, and the day gets pretty tiring, even for those of us who are far less than 92 years old! Paul refused, as he was taking in all that we put in front of him that day. Paul and his fellow veterans saw for the first time that what they had done those years ago was not and would never be forgotten. People were continually thanking Paul, strangers he encountered throughout the day.
Like nearly all of our veterans, he sometimes became silent, deep in thought, remembering his fallen comrades. Hopefully, he felt satisfied that he was pareed, the Greatest Generation who saved the world from three of the world’s worst enemies of freedom.
I am so pleased to meet Paul and his family and that he can finally see how he and his fellow soldiers will be remembered forever. May God bless him, his fellow veterans, and those currently serving our country.”
“We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, Our Flag will be recognized throughout the World as a symbol of Freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other.”
― George C. Marshall