Longmeadow veteran takes Honor FlightDate: 10/2/2014 LONGMEADOW – Fred Richton arose at 3 a.m. on Sept. 28, 2013 to begin his journey to a site he thought he would never live to see.
Richton, a 95-year-old town resident and recipient of four service stars for serving in four major battles with the U.S. Army Air Corps, made the trek to Washington, D.C., alongside 200 other World War II (WWII) veterans from across New England, to view the National WWII Memorial through the Honor Flight New England program.
“I thought I’d long be gone [before I saw the WWII memorial] because at that time, they were still debating and it was only through [former U.S.] Sen. [Bob] Dole pushing and getting the funds that the place was actually built,” Richton explained.
He added had he and the group gone one day later, he most likely would have never seen the memorial due to the U.S. government shutdown.
Honor Flight New England is a nonprofit organization created to honor American veterans and through donations veterans are able to visit war memorials at no cost, according to the organization’s website. Marc Pearlman, president of Ocean State Job Lot, donated funds to pay for the cost of Honor Flight veterans traveling to Washington, D.C., Richton said.
“It was unbelievable,” Richton stated. “Because you don’t know what to expect. I’ve seen the [Korean War Veterans’ Memorial] with people’s names on it and this was individually, we went to one spot to another and part of the memorial for the people that fought in the [WWII Pacific Theatre].”
Richton enlisted into the Army Air Corps in Springfield in January 1942 and during four years he rose among the ranks of enlisted before being discharged as captain in charge of ground transportation of supplies.
“I was a private, then I was a company clerk, and then I was a duty sergeant, then I became a supply sergeant,” he added. “I worked my up through the ranks and then went to officer’s school.”
Richton said he approached his service time with unquestioning faith in the mission.
“I believe in our country and if they were to call me up; whatever the country would want from me, that’s what I’d do,” Richton added.
After the war, Richton settled in Springfield where he raised his family and worked for Growers’ Outlet.
Richton said he was a key developer for a supermarket called Jumbo, a space now occupied by Big Y on North Main Street in East Longmeadow.
In addition to the WWII Memorial, Honor Flight participants visited Arlington National Cemetery and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
A number of uniformed National Guard companies lined the streets as buses filled with veterans traveling through the city as they made their way to Arlington National Cemetery, he said.
“It was the greatest feeling of all,” Richton explained. At the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., cadets in military dress uniforms saluted and shook hands with veterans. A volunteer personal guide also accompanied every veteran.
“It looked like the whole academy showed up to greet us,” Richton said.
Later that evening, 600 guests attended a dinner to commemorate the Honor Flight veterans, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who addressed the veterans, and Dole, a WWII veteran himself, thanked veterans with a handshake.
“I did speak to Sen. Dole and I did speak to his wife Elizabeth, who is the former president of the Red Cross and in fact I have pictures of them,” he added.
Reflecting on the experience, Richton said, “I recommend that anybody that was in any of our wars, when they have the chance to go on this trip, to go because they treat you wonderful.”
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