To all veterans, we thank you for your service
Blanchard and Company awed, humbled by unforgettable Honor Flight
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World
War II veterans Louis “Bobby” Mulvihill, left, and Lawrence Mann flank
Blanchard and Company Account Executive David Zanca at the National
World War II Memorial during the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight’s
trip to Washington on Oct. 1. |
Dear Friends,
Recently, Blanchard and Company, Inc. was proud to help sponsor a trip to Washington, D.C., for 91 World War II veterans as part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight, which honors war heroes by sending them to our nation’s capital.
Blanchard and Company Account Executive David Zanca ceremonially escorted two Louisiana veterans on the trip: Louis “Bobby” Mulvihill and Lawrence Mann. Here is Mulvihill’s personal story. He wasn’t drafted but had volunteered — inspired by a movie. After seeing Gary Cooper play the World War I Medal of Honor winner Alvin York in Sergeant York, Mulvihill and a buddy “figured they were pretty good with guns” and that if Sergeant York could do it, so could they.
The next day Mulvihill went to enlist, and after both the Army and the Marine Corps rejected him because of his small size, he followed a Navy recruiter’s
advice: He went to the grocery for bananas, ate so many he felt sick,
then returned to the recruiter. The result: He made his weight and
enlisted.
Not long
after, Mulvihill landed in Guam for some of the fiercest fighting of the
entire war — or any war. Then in July of 1945, he learned he would be
in the vanguard of the forces invading Japan. He and his comrades were
told to write their families back home and get their affairs in order
because the invasion could be a one-way ticket. However, two weeks later
Japan surrendered and the war ended.
On the
flight home the veterans enjoyed “mail call”: thank-you letters written
by young schoolchildren, as well as from friends and family back home.
And in an unforgettable and profoundly moving moment, one veteran
spontaneously rose to lead the entire plane in singing “God Bless America.”
Upon landing, the veterans were welcomed home by hundreds of cheering
citizens lining the walkways as they greeted their families.
Blanchard and Company
would like to thank everyone who expressed appreciation for our
sponsorship of this Honor Flight. However, these flights are not about
the sponsors or the volunteers — they’re about the veterans. These men
are heroes not only because of their wartime bravery but because they
came home, put the horror of the war behind them, and gave their all to
work and raise their families. So many of us are the people we are today
thanks to these veterans.
Know that
if you are a veteran, you have our sincerest thanks for your service. To
others, we ask that if you see a veteran, let him or her know you are
thankful for their service. If you are lucky enough to have a parent who
served still alive, please look them in the eyes and thank them. Let
them know that Americans truly do appreciate their service.
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