Flying claimed his father in the night skies over Vietnam, but has provided a connection to a lasting memorial for World War II veterans in Idaho.

    Lance Stephensen, head of Honor Flight of Idaho, has experienced reunions he never had as a child.

    On Friday, many World War II veterans gathered in Washington, D.C., on the 71st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, courtesy of free air travel made possible by the Honor Flight Network. Boise’s chapter was unable to participate in the event, but it hopes to reach out to Eastern Idaho for a planned trip this coming May.

    Stephensen said he wants to reach out to Idaho’s veterans before it is too late. There are approximately 11,000 surviving veterans of World War II in the Gem State and the Veterans’ Administration estimates about 680 veterans of the greatest war of the 20th Century die each day in the U.S.

    “That’s why it is important to get these guys rolling,” Stephensen said.

    Stephensen made a commitment to bring an Honor Flight chapter to Boise last year after attending a meeting of people associated with the Warhawk Air Museum in Nampa as the guest speaker. It was there that he learned the Honor Flight chapter in Spokane, Wash. would no longer be taking Idaho veterans on flights back to the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.

    The Honor Flight Network program was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain living in Ohio. As the long awaited memorial to WWII veterans in Washington, D.C., neared completion, Morse decided he wanted to make sure veterans of that war could see it. Funds were raised and the first flight of the Honor Flight Network took off in May of 2005 with  six small planes flying 12 happy veterans.

    Privately funded, it has expanded to all 50 states. Idaho is one of them — thanks to Stephensen.

    “It’s been a lot of work to do this,” he said. “But it’s a great thing.”

    Stephensen has a rich appreciation for military aircraft and the museum in Nampa has P-51 and P-40 fighters on display. It’s what helped create the connection that eventually gave flight to the Honor Flight mission in Idaho.

    But for Stephensen, the reason runs much deeper.

    His father, Col. Mark L. Stephensen, flew an F4 Phantom fighter jet out of Mountain Home Air Force Base. In 1967, while engaged in air combat over South Vietnam, his father’s jet was shot down.

    The day Lance and his mother got the news remains clear in his mind even though he was 10 at the time.

    “The staff car at Mountain Home drove up with my dad’s flight commander and a chaplain,” Stephensen said. “They went inside to talk to my mom.”

    Col. Stephensen and his navigator, Capt. Gary Sigler, were flying at about 600 knots just above the tree tops when their jet was hit by a surface-to-air missile. Mayhem ensued and Sigler ejected to escape the flames.

    “He told us later that he thought my dad was still trying to fly the plane,” Stephensen said.

    It was a rough road for Sigler because he spent three years as a POW in Hanoi. Once he was released, his first stop was Mountain Home where he shared his story with Stephensen and his mother.

    Col. Stephensen remained listed as missing in action until 1988 when his remains were recovered in the plane wreckage.

    Although Lance never joined he armed services, his appreciation for the sacrifice of military men and women runs deep. His family paid the ultimate price and his mother never remarried.

    “She had one love,” Stephensen said.

    After getting all the paperwork together and helping to raise the necessary funds, Stephensen accompanied the first group of WWII veterans to use the Honor Flight Network in Idaho as they took off from Gowen Field last September. There were 24 veterans and 12 volunteers.

    They spent a full day at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and four of the veterans actually had the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Solider in Arlington National Cemetery.

    “To see the look on their faces was incredible,” Stephensen said. “They were honored that America didn’t forget about them.”

    And in many ways, the man in charge of Honor Flight of Idaho was sending his father the same message.

Honor flight of Idaho

To contact Honor Flight of Idaho about flights to the WWII Monument or to make contributions, call 208-283-9651 or write: Honor Flight of Idaho, P.O. Box 191008, Boise, ID 83719.