By Linda Cunningham

Our trip was clearly planned with great thought and attention to the smallest of details. It was executed with such exquisite precision and timing that even Queen Elizabeth II could not find fault. For a day, we were royalty and rock stars. People lined up to cheer us on, shake our hands, and thank us for our service. We had our photos taken and were followed by the media. 

Although we began our weekend as 134 women, most of whom were strangers to each other, we quickly began the process of making connections with each other as only veterans can. Our military service ranged from the Vietnam era through the War on Terrorism. We had served as nurses, military police, combat engineers, chemical weapons technicians, logisticians and more. Many of us took the first steps along the road to equality for women in the Armed Forces, not because we thought about being trailblazers but simply because we wanted to do a job well. We share a deep love for our county, a strong sense of duty, and pride in our service. We are wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, and we are warriors. We each raised our right hand, swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, and wrote a blank check payable to Uncle Sam up to and including our lives. No matter how disparate our lives may be now, we share this in common. Most of us would consider our service to be the defining experience of our lives.

For me, the Honor Flight experience was transformative, but for you to truly understand the impact it had on me, I have to first step back in time. I enlisted into the Army a mere six months after the Women’s Army Corp was disbanded and women were integrated into the Regular Army. Throughout my 10-year career, I was usually the only woman in my unit. More than once, I was the first woman ever assigned to my unit. I served as a Military Policeman and a Combat Engineer – both fields that had been historically male.

These units espoused a culture summarized as: “This is a man’s world. You don’t belong here! You deserve everything you get.” I dealt with verbal and physical harassment on a daily basis for years, in an environment where it was safer to keep my head down and keep quiet than to fight it or try to report it. Eventually, I was sexually assaulted. At times I was trotted out like a trick pony so a commander could “prove” that he supported allowing women to enter “his” Army. Ultimately, my planned 20-year career ended when my brigade commander decided punch his “I support equality ticket” by passing over a much more qualified lieutenant to send me into an environment that I was certain would result in my experiencing a second sexual assault. When I voiced my concerns and backed them up with recent evidence and examples, he informed me that “the lieutenant’s bar on my collar was all I needed to remain safe.”

My further hesitance to fully embrace the proposed assignment resulted in my being sent for a psychiatric evaluation, something that was considered a career-ending event at the time. I was then given the option of accepting the assignment or resigning. I resigned.

As a veteran who served between the Vietnam war and 9-1-1, I don’t qualify for the benefits that so many assume I have access to. I served 10 years, but not a single day during a declared war. My war was personal and mostly invisible. I spent years isolated and avoiding getting the mental health care I needed for fear of losing my security clearances and closing off career options I might need. I spent those same years having the legitimacy of my status as a veteran questioned.

This is what brings me to the transformative aspect of Honor Flight, something that is part of their mission. This mission was a resounding success for me and many of the other women I was blessed to travel with. I was surrounded by women who understand what it means to be a woman veteran. Their experiences may not have been my experience but they understood me and my inner demons in a way that neither male veterans nor civilians can. They accepted me and appreciated me for walking the path I walked. They stated my experience had helped to make their path a little easier as they followed behind. They helped me see that I did more than “just survive” a really difficult situation. They helped me embrace the fact that I am a trailblazer, and I am a warrior. I have finally been able to join the sisterhood of veterans. I made connections that I am sure will continue beyond the weekend. I have been able to reframe my point of view and re-value my experiences in a new light. I am able to better understand how others might admire what I’ve done or stand in awe of my accomplishments rather than down playing and undervaluing them. I can finally accept that I did more than “just survive.”

I still fight the demons of depression and PTSD caused by my experiences in the Army. That may never go away. I remain immensely proud of my status as a veteran and my service to my country. I was a really good soldier. I would also do it all over again! My experiences made me who I am today, and it wasn’t all bad. I had some very good times too. My experiences with Honor Flight brought healing and more peace to my soul. Honor Flight was something that I was extremely excited to participate in, but I did not realize how much I needed it until after we had landed and been greeted with flags, flowers, bagpipers, and a cheering crowd of 1,500+ friends, family, and well-wishers.

I will never be able to thank Honor Flight Kentucky enough for this great honor and gift. I owe a special thanks to Phil Pittman who insisted I apply for the flight, and to club member Ashley Boggs Bruggerman, the most brilliant Flight Director ever! Her devotion to making this flight amazing for us shone brightly in every aspect of the trip. The rest of the flight crew was also wonderful and worked extremely hard to ensure we had an enjoyable and memorable day. Thank you, fellow WCCK members Kelli Dean Parmley and Lindsay Hughes Thurston for being such fabulous Bus Captains. Finally thank you Judy Owens, Amelia Wisner, Barb Ellerbrook, Xana Plum and everyone else in WCCK and Lexington DAR who came out to the airport and helped make my adventure so full of love and so remarkably rewarding.