A Tuesday morning breakfast in Bay Minette turned into a tribute to one of Baldwin County’s proudest civic achievements, as an Eastern Shore dentist thanked the community for helping send hundreds of World War II veterans on once-in-a-lifetime trips to Washington, D.C.
Dr. Barry Booth, a Vietnam veteran who spent years organizing the regional Honor Flight program, was the featured speaker at the Baldwin County Commission’s 10th annual “Day of Thanks” breakfast at the John F. Rhodes Civic Center. The free, public event drew about 50 attendees who gathered to hear Booth reflect on the program’s impact before it concluded in 2013.
Between 2008 and 2013, the Honor Flight effort organized nine chartered flights carrying World War II veterans from Mobile to Washington, D.C., where they toured military memorials, including the World War II Memorial, at no cost to the veterans themselves. Each trip paired veterans with volunteer “guardians” who helped manage medical needs and ensured a smooth, memorable day of travel and sightseeing.
Booth said Baldwin County residents were especially generous supporters of the program throughout its run. In all, the flights carried 957 World War II veterans to the nation’s capital, and Booth said organizers made a point of reaching every veteran in the region who wanted to make the trip. “That’s every single World War II veteran within our sphere of influence who wanted to go,” he said. “No one was left behind.”
The program’s final homecoming, held at Mobile Regional Airport in May 2013, drew roughly 1,000 people to welcome the returning veterans, a scene that repeated, on a smaller scale, after each of the nine flights.
Among those who benefited from the program was 98-year-old Army veteran Jim Nickerson, who flew on the second Honor Flight and spoke briefly during the breakfast about his wartime service, which included fighting at the Battle of Kasserine Pass in North Africa and taking part in the D-Day invasion at Utah Beach. Nickerson thanked Booth for the opportunity, joking that his wife had encouraged him to go partly just to get him out of the house for the day.
Booth said events like the Day of Thanks breakfast help keep the memory of the Honor Flight program alive locally, even years after the last flight returned home. He credited community gatherings and continued storytelling with sustaining public awareness of veterans’ service long after formal recognition programs wind down.
The Baldwin County Honor Flight effort was part of a larger national movement that has sent more than 150,000 World War II veterans to see their memorial in Washington, with similar Honor Flight hubs operating in 44 states. For Baldwin County, the program remains a point of local pride, one Booth said reflects the community’s willingness to rally behind its veterans when it mattered most.