Joseph Katancik was overwhelmed with emotion.
And this is a man who has experienced a lifetime of emotion.
The veteran of three wars — World War II, Korea and Vietnam — returned to Idaho from an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., in September. He was met at the Boise Airport by his wife, Midge, who was laughing, waving and holding an American flag. His friends were holding signs. And they were all joined by his dog, Daisy.
Joseph held out his arms, and he and his wife embraced — to applause. Everyone came in for hugs. Daisy jumped at his legs, and Joseph pulled her onto his lap.
“I think (everyone coming) is wonderful,” said Midge, who met Joseph in Seattle more than 50 years ago.
An Honor Flight is a trip paid for by a nonprofit that allows veterans to go to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials that honor their service. And for Joseph, 94, who served in the Air Force, that’s no quick trip to a single memorial.
Vietnam veterans are still plentiful in the United States, numbering in the millions, according to the Pew Research Center . The conflict in Korea peaked in the early 1950s, but there are still hundreds of thousands of military service members alive who served then.