June 25, 2026 Edition
By Emily Patrick
This May, two of our local Post 94 legionnaires, Bump Morrison and Donna Mabee, were selected by Honor Flight Maine for the trip of a lifetime…and a long overdue welcome home. From their website: “At Honor Flight Maine, our mission is simple but deeply meaningful: to honor Maine’s veterans by bringing them to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in recognition of their service and sacrifice.”
The entire trip is free for veterans.
Bump Morrison served in the US Navy from 1969 to 1973. He worked on old World War II diesel submarines as an electrician. During this time, he traveled all over the Atlantic, from Greenland down to Puerto Rico and even went to Europe for a short time. When Bump got home, he worked for Great Northern Paper for 18 years and then, as many will remember, spent another 18 years of dedicated service at Indian Hill Trading Post.
Bump joined the Legion in 1973 and has been there ever since, serving an impressive 43 years, 16 of those as Commander. When Bump found out he was selected for an honor flight, he was “ecstatic.” It was something he had always wanted to do. He particularly wanted to see Arlington National Cemetery. “It takes your breath away,” said Bump of the famous final resting place of so many of our nation’s heroes.
Bump and Donna’s Honor Flight spanned from May 29 to May 31. Veterans were able to see a dizzying array of memorials, monuments and statues: Arlington, of course, the US Marine Corps Memorial and the Statue of Iwo Jima, the US Air Force Memorial, the Military Women’s Memorial, the Korean War, Vietnam Wall, and World War II Memorials, the US Navy Memorial and more.
The most meaningful part of the trip for Donna was seeing the Vietnam Women’s Memorial. She had asked her fellow legionnaire Jim McKeon (whom I also had the honor to interview) to snap a photo of the touching tribute when he took his Honor Flight in June of 2024. Of being selected to see the memorial in person, Donna says, “I was totally touched, honored…it was just a privilege. It’s not something that everyone gets.”
Donna grew up in Massachusetts and attended the Lynn Hospital School of Nursing from 1969-1972. In 1972 she joined the Army Nurse Corps as an officer and completed basic training at Fort Sam Houston. Her second duty station was in Germany, and she was the only female officer for half of that tour, where she managed a clinic with 10 in-patient beds. Donna says she drove an ambulance, delivered babies, assisted with minor surgeries, and even cared for President Eisenhower’s wife Mamie stateside when she was admitted with a broken hip. Donna says, “I was proud to serve my country and would gladly do it all over again if needed.”
Still, when Donna returned home from her service, she says, “There was not a welcome home then.” On her honor flight, however, everywhere the group went they heard, “Welcome home,” and, “We’re glad you’re here.” That acknowledgement means more to our veterans than we could ever imagine. Jim specifically remembers the first time someone shook his hand and said welcome home. It was at the Walmart in Augusta, years after he had served in Vietnam. “I couldn’t say anything; I was shocked,” says Jim. For some, closure and healing never come. For others, they just take their time. Donna and Jim finally got their warm welcomes, albeit decades late. But you know what they say; better late than never.
Honor Flight also allows veterans to talk about their experiences with others who understand. Jim says the last night of his Honor Flight, a woman from the Space Force sat next to him and said, “I want to hear your story.”
Jim replied, “I want to hear yours.”
She said with a laugh, “I can’t tell you anything. You’re next.”
Of the monuments and memorials, Donna says, “There’s a lot more touch to it than just looking at the wall,” as she recounts a heartbreaking story about a friend whose brother died in Vietnam. Years later that friend named her son after her late brother, but the baby suffered health complications. Donna can’t finish the story.
The deeply personal nature of Honor Flight and war memorials must be why so many veterans feel compelled to leave mementos at the sites. Jim tells me that they are approaching half a million items left at the Vietnam monument. Donna left her ponytail holder. Jim- his hat.
When Jim left his hat, his guide asked him why he chose that panel. Jim said it was totally random; it was just a panel that he could reach the top of. The guide told Jim that his brother was on that panel. This is a poignant reminder that nothing is truly “random”; we are all intimately connected. The way we treat our veterans is more than a reflection of ourselves.
The emotional gravity and deeply personal nature of an Honor Flight is almost impossible to put into words. Though there are some sad moments as I chat with Jim, Donna and Bump, there are also smiles and a childlike twinkle in the veterans’ eyes.
“There’s nothing about that trip that I can complain about whatsoever…It’s something you’ll never, ever forget. It’s right in your mind at all times,” says Morrison.
Jim says, “It was quite a trip. If I could do it again, I would…everything was first class.”
As it should be. First class treatment for our local first-class heroes. Thank you, Donna, Jim and Bump for your service and sacrifice, and for so openly sharing your stories with me. And thank you, Honor Flight Maine, for finally giving them the treatment and recognition they have deserved all along. Sometimes you have to leave home to ultimately find your way back. Welcome home.
The Moosehead Lakeshore Journal is pleased to announce that, in October of this year, Richard Collins of Greenville, Jim Greenleaf of Monson and Charles Ryder of Monson have all been approved for an Honor Flight.