Service members from the New Hampshire Veterans Home in Tilton toured the National Guard air facility in Concord on Thursday. They got to visit with current military personnel and view UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters up close. Then after a barbecue with current aviation teams, the veterans got to see a Black Hawk take off from the facility.
The event was more than a chance for veterans to get back on a base, according to Leonard Stuart, program information officer for the New Hampshire Veterans Home.
“What makes these visits to the New Hampshire National Guard’s Aviation Support facility very special is not the barbecue lunches or getting to see all the cool military hardware, but the conversations and interactions between the young soldiers and the Veterans Home residents, some of whom are old enough to be their grandfathers,” Stuart said. “The event connects with several different generations of veterans and veterans-to-be who’ve shared the military experience – everyone from the youngest private up through their sergeants and senior officers.
First Lt. Brendan Meehan, one of the National Guard pilots who planned the event and gave the briefing, said events like Thursday’s are good for current service members, as well.
“It is always great to have a rare chance to meet a group of people who have done so much for our country,” he said. “One had been a sailor on a Navy destroyer during the landing at Iwo Jima, and had a firsthand account how he used the ships’ cannons to directly support the Marines on the beach. Stories like his and so many others were fascinating and offered insight that you couldn’t find anywhere else.
And the visits also highlight what the armed services are doing to help defend the country.
“It is also nice to show off to such an extraordinary group of individuals the helicopters and the job that we as New Hampshire Air Reserve National Guard Aviation work so hard to excel in,” Meehan said. “We have a unique and fun job, and when you give your time to explain it to them, they appreciate it like no other living group can.”