By Tom Tracy - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY | Tom Christensen
World War II veteran Carl Muscarello of All Saints Parish in Sunrise, and his guardian Sandy Thomas, pose in front of the Iwo Jima Memorial during their Oct. 29 Honor Flight South Florida to Washington, D.C.
Photographer: COURTESY | Charles Ashton
World War II veteran Carl Muscarello of All Saints Parish in Sunrise enjoys a visit to the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. as part of the Oct. 29 Honor Flight South Florida. With him is Carrie Christenson, who lives in Arlington, Va., and came over to meet the veterans at the memorial.
Photographer: COURTESY | Charles Ashton
World War II veteran Burton Belenke holds up a picture of his newly-enlisted self during his Oct. 29 visit to Washington, D.C., as part of the Honor Flight South Florida.
MIAMI | Minnesota native and Key West retiree Raymond Blazevic vividly remembers being drafted into the U.S. Navy, and joining 70,000 other recruits at a boot camp just south of the Canadian border during World War II.
He also remembers serving not only in that war but in two others � the Vietnam conflict and Korea, where he was captured after his plane crashed north of Kumsong, North Korea.
While his co-pilot was never accounted for, Blazevic was listed as missing in action and presumed dead in 1954. Later, he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
“The most interesting thing was that I was with all the senior officers and they finally forced a lot of them to make confessions,” said Blazevic, 91, a member of the Basilica of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Parish in Key West. “It took two years of negotiations and we were released.”
A career soldier, he then served in Vietnam in the reconnaissance squadron and more maintenance positions, “working seven days a week while the college kids were revolting in the USA because they didn’t want to be drafted,” he said. “It didn’t bother me that we didn’t have a parade. I had a lot of work and was keeping busy.”
Blazevic finally got something of a welcome parade in late October. He was among nearly 80 war veterans to travel with Honor Flight South Florida, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to transport World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., so they can visit war memorials dedicated to American men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Blazevic’s son-in-law, John McMahon of Key West, accompanied him on the trip after reading about the program in the local newspapers. The program is designed to prioritize World War II and continue with veterans from wars thereafter. The recent trip included a number of South Florida Catholics from all three counties of the archdiocese, according to local organizer Stan Bostic.
Most of the veterans were accompanied by a family member or volunteer guardian. Upon their return from the one-day visit Oct. 29, they were met by a long line of cheering well-wishers at Miami International Airport.
“They lined people up in a snake through the airport so that these World War II veterans coming through this procession line can finally be welcomed home,” said Bostic, a founding member of the local Honor Flight program and a parishioner at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Kendall. Bostic also serves as national director of communications for Rick Case Automotive Group.
According to Honor Flight, the World War II generation, often referred to as “the greatest generation,” is dwindling quickly. They estimate one World War II veteran passes away every 90 seconds.
In Broward County, Sam DiTullo, a member of St. Stephen Parish in Miramar, also joined the Honor Flight delegation. He was accompanied by his son-in-law, Tom Pattison, who worked for the military as a civilian for 30 years. A native of Beacon, N.Y., DiTullo was 18 years old in 1944 when he served during World War II, entering the theater of war at the beaches of Normandy shortly after the famed invasion there.
“He had never been to Washington and never seen any of these memorials so it was really exciting,” said Pattison of his father-in-law.
“It is not that we ignored our veterans back in those years. It is simply that not everybody got a tickertape parade. People came back and went back to their jobs and to their girlfriends, so this is great,” Pattison added. “I love the whole concept and was really excited to be a part of this.”
Carl Muscarello, a member of All Saints Parish in Sunrise, recalled being drafted at the height of World War II. He was assigned to ship-repair units based in the Pacific and in Staten Island, N.Y.
“If President Truman didn’t drop the bomb I might not be talking to you today,” Muscarello said. “World War II was a sad time for me; six of my brother’s friends were killed. I was 15 years old in Brooklyn when the war broke out and I remember running home to tell my mother that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. A lot of them did not come home, but I did my best. The only time I heard a gun go off was when I was on a firing range.”
Muscarello, who was part of the Honor Flight trip, said he had been to see the war memorials previously, but enjoyed meeting other vets. “One of the reasons I was invited to go was that many of the World War II vets are dying and they are having trouble filling up the flights since not many of us are left.”
