Honor Flight takes Shelby Township veteran, 91, to see nation’s war memorials

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Longtime Shelby Township resident and Korean War veteran William B. Harrell, 91, was the recipient of an Honor Flight in November to visit the national war memorials in Washington, D.C.

His family saw the opportunity with Honor Flight Columbus, in Ohio, and signed him up in September of 2021. Honor Flight Columbus honors senior veterans by flying them to Washington, D.C., free of charge and escorting them to visit the nation’s veterans memorials.

Harrell has lived in Shelby Township for 54 years. Nearly two decades before moving to Shelby Township, Harrell was in Findlay, Ohio, when he went into the Army in 1951. He received a Bronze Star in the Korean War, and he was discharged from Fort Hayes in Columbus in 1953.

Harrell’s daughter, Lisa Fortner, shared a paper with C & G Newspapers that she said her father wrote about the Honor Flight experience.

“I was invited by the Columbus, Ohio, Honor Flight organization to visit the war memorials at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C., for a presentation honoring the veterans. There were 114 veterans on the flight. There were no veterans from World War II and only five from the Korean War. The majority were from the Vietnam War. At the presentation in Arlington National Cemetery, they honored the veterans from (the) oldest conflict, and the five of them were given a special honor as the military presented us with American flags,” he wrote.

He said the veterans were assigned guardians who stayed with them all day for support and as guides to the memorials.

“When we arrived at Ronald Reagan airport in Washington, D.C., there was a military group at the airport to welcome us,” he wrote.

“When we arrived back in Columbus, there was close to 200 people to greet us. They lined the hallway and shook hands with us and shouted, ‘Thank you for your service,’” Harrell said. “It was a very emotional greeting that brought tears to my eyes. I am proud to be an American and to have served this country.”

Fortner, who is a guardian within Honor Flight, said the organization started as a service for World War II veterans and now it is continuing to serve veterans of other wars.

Phil Harrell, Fortner’s cousin, said he saw an ad for Honor Flight Columbus and thought what a great way it would be to honor his uncle who served in the Korean War, which is sometimes called “The Forgotten War.”

“The mission of Honor Flight is to honor America’s senior veterans with a trip to D.C. to visit the memorials and (to) help share their stories and celebrate their service and homecoming. Those soldiers returning after Korea and Vietnam did not receive a warm welcome home from the American public and this welcoming was long overdue. When I asked my uncle what was the best part of the trip, he said it was … all the warm wishes from people at the airport who hadn’t forgot what these veterans had done for them so many years ago,” Phil Harrell said via email.

William B. Harrell earned a Korean Service Medal with a Bronze Service Star, a United Nations Medal and a Good Conduct Medal while serving as part of a Sherman tank group while stationed in Korea.

Alivia Fortner, the granddaughter of William B. Harrell, said that when she was growing up, her grandpa would sit her down and tell her stories from the war.

“My eyes would get wide sitting at the edge of the chair getting to hear the emotion, hardships, friendships, life-or-death situations, and hard decisions that he would face. The history behind these memories made my grandpa a superhero-like figure,” she said in an email interview.

Alivia Fortner said she heard about her grandpa’s Honor Flight opportunity and that family and friends could write letters to him as a surprise. So she wrote a special heartfelt letter with pictures for the occasion.

“The letter I wrote, as well as my family’s, touched his heart and changed his life forever. I could tell how grateful he is for family and the memories he has shared fighting for our nation. Since that day when he first got home from the flight, tears filled his eyes — full of emotion, thankfulness, love, and gratitude when he saw me,” she said.

She said her grandpa isn’t only her hero but one of her best friends, and she is very proud of him for all he has done in his life.

“He is a son, brother, father, grandpa and great-grandpa. He has accomplished so much in this life; I only wish to be half the person he is. Thank you for your service, Grandpa. Love you always to my favorite superhero,” she said.

Maelee Hall, of Columbus, Ohio, who was William B. Harrell’s guardian that day, said he is one of those people that you meet and you don’t get enough of.

“I met Bill over the phone and then in person on Nov. 4 as his guardian for Honor Flight. Being his guardian for that entire day/experience was truly one of the best days of both of our lives. Bill’s stories filled me with sorrow but also life,” Hall said in an email interview.

She said the flag presentation touched Harrell and he held onto the flag everywhere they went after he received it.

“That just reassured me (of) everything I already thought I knew about Bill. We held hands or arms all day and never stopped talking. To this day, we never stop talking — whether it’s texts or calls on holidays, randomly thinking of one another or just checking in, Bill is a forever friend that I didn’t know I needed at 24. If everyone could love America and people like Bill, we sure would have a whole lot of a better place. I’m beyond honored to say that I know Bill and have a small piece of him with me always,” she said.