WBAY-TV Green Bay-Fox Cities-Northeast Wisconsin News: Local Veteran Will Take Honor Flight

Local Veteran Will Take Honor Flight

A local WWII veteran is headed to the U.S. Capitol this week to see the national WWII Memorial.

Robert Reeners can still recall landing on the shores of Normandy on D-day in 1944, but when asked what it was like, he just can't find the words.

"If you were there, I don't have to tell you, if you weren't there, there's no way I can explain it to you," he said.

Reeners war story started 65 years ago working as a small boat coxin during WWII, transporting troops from bigger ships to land.

He was one of the lucky ones, he survived, thousands of others, didn't.

"Everytime I look at that cemetary on the hill overlooking Omaha beach I think of all of the young men who never had a chance at life," he said.

This week, he will have a chance to pay his respects. Through the Wisconsin Stars and Stripes honor program, he and other vets will fly to Washington D.C. to see the memorials of his fellow soldiers.

"My visit will not only be for my own satisfaction, but for all of the others who didn't make it," he said.

Reeners calls the chance to see the National World War II memorial a dream come true, and knows the day will be filled with emotions and memories.

"Nobody wins the war, everybody's a loser. To the victors go the spoils has been said many times, and that was never more true than in World War," he said.