Listen: Tom Smith, a veteran among D.C. memorials

Thursday, June 27, 2019 - 16:03

The Enterprise — Melissa Hale-Spencer
Tom Smith holds a picture of himself as a young sailor, when he saw the world and was involved in the Korean War.

 

Tom Smith is 87 now, although he notes with a grin that he may actually be 88 since one year, after crossing the international dateline, he celebrated two birthdays. Smith recently took an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C with other veterans to see the memorials there, including the life-like poncho-clad statues depicting American soldiers in Korea. “It was one of the best days of my life,” says Smith in this week’s podcast. Smith, one of five brothers who all served in the military, enjoyed the pageantry of the day — uniformed cadets at the Christian Brothers Academy, a motorcycle escort to the airport, greetings from well-wishers both taking off and landing, meeting Senator Bob Dole, in a wheelchair just like Smith — as much as the memorials. He remembers, as a kid, a trip to D.C. with his father when he first saw the Lincoln Memorial and felt that Lincoln was looking at him. He felt the same way on this trip.

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