Honor Flight brings valor, memories to Posey veteran pair

Mike and Chuck Effinger obviously are enjoying the trip.

By Lois Mittino Gray

Two Posey County veterans and their guardians had the time of their lives on the Spring Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, May 2. When we talked around a table at the Alexandrian Public Library, Mike and Chuck Effinger and Carl Wells regaled me with lively stories of their adventures and feelings throughout the trip to our Nation’s Capital.

Mount Vernon resident Carl Wells said his favorite moment was the walk up the 87 steps to the statue of Abraham Lincoln at his Memorial. “It was a place of great reverence, and I just wanted to get up on his knee,” Carl said with an impish smile. He recalled that a bird was perched irreverently on the statue’s head, but he was most disconcerted that some other visitors were not treating it with honor. “They were noisy, laughing loudly, and throwing trash around,” he said with a shake of his head. Otherwise, he said the trip was near-perfect.

Wadesville resident Mike Effinger also liked the Lincoln Memorial, but he said that his favorite was the Air Force Memorial with its tribute to victims of the Pentagon crash on 9/11. “The plane flew right over a motel and took a layer off its top before it hit the Pentagon. The Memorial is situated in a way that assures no plane will ever fly that path again. Benches are placed there in honor of each person who died. The direction the bench is placed around the water features indicate whether that person was on the plane or in the building,” Effinger described. “There was a school class visiting there, too, and all the children lined up and shook our hands. I admired them for that,” added Wells.

All three men also raved about how much they enjoyed the Changing of the Guard Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. “I get cold chills just thinking about it,” said Chuck, Mike’s son, who was his guardian on the trip. “Just look at my arm goosebumps,” he pointed out. “Just think, there are only two men interred in the Tomb now. The others were identified through DNA. It is never left unattended. The honor guard even continued walking when a tornado went through the area,” added Chuck’s father.

Carl remarked that he also loved visiting Audie Murphy’s tombstone while at the cemetery. A wild turkey lay down right in the grass during their visit to the Tomb. “It was all so peaceful,” he reflected.

The two veterans did not know each other before the trip, but met at the Meet N’ Greet Dinner at CK Newsom Center held the Thursday night before the flight. It was all catered by the Golden Corral as a donation to vets. “I was on standby and got the call to go at the last minute,” Wells said. Effinger said he interviewed first at Sarto Retreat Center to meet his group captain and bus drivers. “They are very special people for us that day and were amazing and fantastic,” he recalled.

86 veterans were on the flight. With their guardians, nurses, and other volunteers, there were about 190 aboard the flight total, which required four buses and captains to shuttle them all around. All expenses are covered for the veterans, but their required guardian pays $550.00 to accompany them. “It was well worth it!” Chuck Effinger enthused. Carl’s guardian was his daughter, Kimberly Conlin of Mount Vernon.

Carl Wells’ years of service were 1963-1969. “I went into the Navy right out of high school, and I was on the USS Newport News CA-148. The Admiral was on board our ship, so everyone had to be constantly gung-ho and on our toes. I knew he was there at all times and saw him walking around the ship,” he reminisced. Wells did not go to Vietnam during his stint, but the ship went to Vietnam into war right after he left the service. He returned to Posey County to work and retired from SABIC after many years.

Mike Effinger was active in military service from 1966-1968 and then went four years on inactive duty. He was a member of the Signal Corps 395th in the US Army. “We were the sitting duck pole climbers,” he joked, referring to their nickname. He was not sent to Vietnam, but trained units going to the war. After returning and working locally, he retired as an engineer in 2005.

All the participants agreed the trip was a “10” on a 1-10 scale, with Wells quipping, “It was maybe an 11 for 12 for me!”

The day was long and exhausting. All of them slept fitfully, really excited, and knowing they were leaving early. They got up at 2 a.m. and were at the airport by 4:30 a.m. The captain of their charter plane went all out to decorate the plane. The men said it was the first time ever that one was so decorated. The interior had festive red, white and blue lights, banners, and flags from every division.

Breakfast was on the plane with donated coffee, doughnuts, and sandwiches. “We had so much food and candy all the time. We were treated just great,” Wells noted “When we got to D.C. there was a mixture of people waiting to shake our hands. I felt ten foot tall everywhere we went. It’s a lot different from thirty years ago when we came back.”

Their buses were escorted by police throughout the trip. The first stop was the World War II Memorial where they had their picture taken as a group. Individually, photos were taken with their guardian and a poster of their younger days in military service in front of the Indiana tablet. They visited the Vietnam Memorial, Korea Memorial, Vietnam Nurses Statue and saw the Washington Monument and Capitol building on the bus tours. Effinger was disappointed the reflecting pool was drained for repairs. “I enjoyed the Iwo Jima Statue raising the flag. When you looked up the flagpole, it looks like they are actually raising it,” he said.

After a busy day touring on the bus, eating lunch, and greeting all those well-wishers, the men were ready to take a nap flying back to Evansville. It wasn’t for too long because it was Mail Call Time and stack of letters were delivered to them on the plane. “The letters were from kids from all over. My granddaughter’s whole class at Tekoppel Elementary third grade made me letters and pictures,” Effinger said with pride. “I’m glad they are educating kids on things like this,” remarked his son

The Grand Finale was the lengthy and grand parade to welcome them back to Evansville. “When the plane landed, the airport was full. Water trucks made a big arch of welcome,” Mike said. “There must have been a thousand or more people out there.”

During the parade, each veteran had a high school kid assigned to him who held up their military picture and people clapped and high-fived as they passed by. Local dignitaries, school kids, and relatives made up the throngs. Local newsman Ron Rhodes interviewed each veteran.

After it was all over, late at night, Chuck had to go all the way back to Rend Lake where he was camping. “It took an hour and a half to just get out of the airport when we got back,” he recalled. All of them plan to see each other again at the follow-up breakfast scheduled for June at Atlas on US 41.

“I sure did learn quite a bit on the tour. I’m not sure I could drive in D.C. if I had to though,” Carl Wells summed up.

The next Honor Flights of Southern Indiana trip is scheduled for September 26, 2026.To learn more about a veteran going on an honor flight, check the Honor Flight Network website. Or call 812.297.4136. It serves the Indiana counties of Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Gibson, Knox, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, Perry, Pike, Posey, Spencer, Vanderburgh and Warrick. This is made possible with the help of generous donors and volunteers.

1566 Veterans Flown to Washington, D.C.

20 Flights Flown By HFSI Since 2014

566 Veterans Flown to Washington, D.C.

20 Flights Flown By HFSI Since 2014