This trip is run by North Country Honor Flight, which is a part of the national organization. On Friday afternoon, each veteran and an accompanying guardian was escorted to Plattsburgh from around the region in New York and Vermont.

At 7 a.m. this morning, they will be sent on their way with a parade and appearance by “Thunder in the Burgh,” a Plattsburgh motorcycle group, as they make their way to Plattsburgh International Airport. After a tour of Washington monuments, they will be welcomed home this evening at the Plattsburgh Barracks Veterans Park on the U.S. Oval.

The North Country Honor Flight has flown 900 veterans to Washington since 2013, according to a count on the organization’s website. There are three more flight dates this year: June 28, Sept. 6 and Oct. 4. Barrie Finnegan, executive director of North Country Honor Flight, said they accept applications on a rolling basis. Their first priority when considering applicants is age, since they want to give older veterans a chance to take the trip.

North Country Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to send veterans to the capital. It is part of the Honor Flight Network, a national organization. To find out more, fill out an application, or donate, visit northcountryhonorflight.org. Donations can also be mailed to North Country Honor Flight, P.O. Box 2644, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.

North Country motorcyclists escort Vietnam veteran Carl Gonyea, riding in a State Trooper vehicle, on Friday as he heads to Plattsburgh for the North Country Honor Flight. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

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Carl Gonya, U.S. Army

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Carl Gonyea’s family has lived in Lake Placid for at least six generations. On Friday, his extended family members started to gather, walking and riding motorcycles from nearby blocks. Gonyea describes the places where different generations of his family have lived by gesturing in different directions.

He has only left Lake Placid once — when he was drafted for 14 months of service in the U.S. Army in Korea during the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970.

Glenn Pond, Betsy Pond and Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte. (Enterprise photo — Aaron Marbone)

“Uncle Sam called me,” he said simply.

He described having his physical done and hearing the other guys around him get assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps. Being stationed in Korea ended up being a relatively quiet post. Numbers from the U.S. National Archives show that while the Army had the most casualties during the conflict, the Marine Corps lost a larger percentage of their enlisted numbers, since it’s a smaller military branch.

“We were actually lucky,” he said. “I figured I was lucky.”

Gonyea was assigned to an Atomic Demolition Munition (ADM) platoon. Their job was to blast away obstacles to, for example, make way for a road.

When he returned home, Gonyea worked a variety of jobs. He shoveled snow at the “Home of 1000 Animals.” He worked a few years in construction and then spent several decades hauling mail to Lake Placid properties by boat.

Carl Gonyea prepares to leave for Plattsburgh for the North Country Honor Flight, driven by Trooper James Dambro and seen off by Jerry Strack. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

“The best part of that was the dogs,” he said. “I had 16 dogs that I fed up there — gave them biscuits every day.”

He said one dog in particular found a way to rig the system. She would meet him at three consecutive docks — and he would give her a treat at each one.

Gonyea said several of his family members worked together to get him signed up for this Honor Flight. He’s never been to D.C. and he hasn’t been on a plane since 1970. He said he wasn’t sure what he’s most looking forward to, but after some more thought, he said he most wanted to visit The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

He also wants to see the World War II Memorial. His uncle died in England during World War II, and his father served in the Pacific Theater after being stationed in Hawaii during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Gonyea will be joined by his brother, Wesley Gonyea, on the flight and tour of D.C.

North Country motorcyclists escort Vietnam veteran Carl Gonyea, riding in a State Trooper vehicle, on Friday as he heads to Plattsburgh for the North Country Honor Flight. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)

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Glenn Pond, U.S. Air Force

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Pond is no stranger to flying. As an airborne radio operator during the Korean War, he said, “I was up in the air a lot.”

But when he joined the military at age 19, he had never flown before. Now, at age 91, he’s looking forward to joining his fellow veterans for a flight to the nation’s capital to see the war monuments there.

“It’s an honor,” he said.

Pond had heard about the flights for years. He has friends who have gone and told him it’s a great experience. A few years ago, his friend and fellow Korean War veteran Joe Pillmeier of Saranac Lake took an Honor Flight. Pillmeier enjoyed it and strongly encouraged Pond to apply. Pond’s son and wife encouraged him, too.

At 91 years old, he said, he wanted to “as long as I’m still able to do it.”

He’s never been to Washington D.C. before and said he is interested to see the war monuments. His cousin was killed in Vietnam and was never found. Pond will look for his cousin’s name on the wall of the Vietnam War Memorial.

Pond was in the Air Force for four years. He arrived at the Kimpo Air Base in Korea after the fighting was over. The people there were nice and the area was very rural.

“Seoul was not what it is today,” Pond said.

Instead of skyscrapers, there were horses and wagons. The soldiers lived in tents and their bathrooms were holes in the ground.

It was quiet, but he could see the ravages of war, fighting he feels very fortunate to have not seen directly.

He regularly worked on flights in and out of Japan, transporting people and materials on planes like the Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Douglas C-54 Skymaster — all propeller-driven aircraft.

“That’s why I developed some hearing problems,” he said. “I never had to jump out of a plane that wasn’t working right, thank God.”

Joining the military was a major change for him.

“Before I went into the Air Force, I had never been outside of New York state,” Pond said.

He was going to be drafted, so he enlisted at 19 years old. The year before, he had worked as a telegraph operator on the railroad in his hometown of Brownville, near Watertown.

“I wanted to get on a plane,” he said.

Pond got his wish to become an airborne radio operator. He traveled the world — Asia, Europe and America.

In 1956, while he was stationed at the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, the Hungarian Revolution brought the potential for war and he was stationed in Greenland for a month.

“I never saw the sun the whole time,” Pond said.

After leaving the military, Pond studied to become an educator through the G.I. bill. After getting his master’s degree, the idea of pursuing a doctorate tired him. He had visited Saranac Lake as a substitute telegraph operator in 1952 before he joined the military and was struck by the beauty of the area on a boat ride on Lower Saranac Lake.

“I said then, ‘If I ever get the chance, I’m going to come back here,” he said.

He wrote a letter to the school here asking if they needed a biology teacher. They did, and he taught in Saranac Lake High School for 30 years.

“I’ve been retired for as many years as I taught,” he said with a laugh.

Here, he met his wife Betsy, they got married and raised three children — two from Betsy’s marriage to her late husband and one together. Michael, their eldest, met Pond in Plattsburgh for the trip.

On Friday, Pond had another first in transportation for himself.

“I’ve never been in a police car,” he said as he stepped into Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte’s squad car.