"I'm a survivor," he said proudly. "I've been around a long time. There's a lot of people I served with in the Army and in the National Guard who are gone."

      Edmiston was one of 248 World War II veterans who boarded Nebraska's third Heartland Honor Flight to Washington D.C. to tour the capitol and visit the World War II memorial.

       However, Edmiston's trip was slightly delayed.

      The plane that was to take the Edmiston and the other half of the veterans who went, was about one and one-half hours late. After arriving to Washington D.C. later than planned, the veterans boarded three charter buses and received a police escort to catch up with the other half of the group.

      "When we got to the memorial, the first thing I did was shake hands with every one of those officers (who provided the escort) and thanked them," Edmiston said.

      In addition to the World War II memorial, Edmiston also saw the Marine Corps Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, the White House and several other sites.

      The trip was not the first time the veteran has been to the nation's capitol.

      While serving in the fourth regiment of the 29th Division in the United States Army in 1942, his first assignment was guard duty in Washington D.C.

      "Everything has changed," Edmiston said after revisiting the capitol city.

      Edmiston's military career began when he was 21 and living in Lincoln. It was 1942 and he was drafted into the Army. After guard duty in Washington D.C. from 1942 to early 1943, he was sent to infantry school in Georgia for 13 months.

      "I thought I'd be in a motor pool and ended up in a rifle squad," he said.

      In 1944, Edmiston was deployed to England to join the 28th Infantry Division, the same division that made the initial invasion at Normandy in 1944.

      "I went in on Omaha Beach 26 days after the invasion," Edmiston recalled.

      On Nov. 6, 1944, Edmiston was wounded by a shell blast while in Germany. Fragments of the shell still remain in his left leg. He left service with three Good Conduct medals, a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star. After leaving them sitting in a shoebox for many years, a friend convinced Edmiston to display the medals and patches he earned during his military career.      

      Edmiston was eventually discharged from service in 1945. He returned home and started selling used cars, eventually branching out to sell salvaged auto parts for the next 30 years. He also joined the National Guard in 1947.

      Edmiston spent 27 years in the National Guard. In 1979, he moved to his rural Greenwood home. Two years later, he retired from the National Guard as a major and never thought he would return to Washington D.C.

      "I never figured I'd be back there," he said. "I was very fortunate that I got to go."

      Edmiston said he is especially honored that he got to go, because it is a trip he knows some of his fellow World War II veterans won't live to experience.

      "There's a lot of guys on that waiting list to go that are going to die before they get the opportunity to go," he said with tears in his eyes. "As far as I'm concerned, they should have built this memorial 30 years ago."

      Edmiston said he heard there is still money for a couple more Heartland Honor Flights, so more veterans will get the opportunity like he did.

      "It was an experience that I will remember," he said.

      The Heartland Honor Flight program is a non-profit organization created to honor veterans for their sacrifices. All expenses are for the veterans are paid for by private donations.

      Since its inception in 2005, Honor Flights across the country have taken more than 10,000 World War II veterans to Washington D.C. For more information about the flights, go to http://www.honorflight.org.

Joe Evans, Ashland Gazette - Ashland,NE,USA