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Navy seasoned Joseph “Jay” Ventress present looks backmost connected his Vietnam War work — including 2 tours connected the craft bearer USS Constellation arsenic a baker and navigator — otherwise than helium has successful the past.
His alteration of position came from his caller information arsenic 1 of 70 honored veterans connected the 30th Central Valley Honor Flight, a three-day travel to Washington, D.C., to sojourn warfare memorials and subject sites with different veterans.
Many veterans travel location from wartime with survivor’s guilt. Ventress talked astir however atrocious helium felt that immoderate soldiers didn’t marque it location from Vietnam portion his ain wartime duties consisted of “flipping donuts,” successful his words. But with this trip, Ventress gained a broader appreciation of everyone’s portion successful the subject mission.
“They told america we each signed a portion of insubstantial that said that we were consenting to spell and bash immoderate they asked america to do. We’re sending you implicit present and we’re sending you implicit there. You flip donuts, and you tally for your life. They could person swapped america around, and I could person been implicit there, and helium could person been successful the donut shop. But we some signed a portion of insubstantial that said we were consenting to bash immoderate they asked america to do, and that’s what it was.”
Ventress and his wife, Joy, learned astir Central Valley Honor Flight 4 years ago. Joy looked into the application process and got Ventress connected the waiting list. He recovered retired successful August that helium had been approved for the October trip.
Each seasoned connected an Honor Flight travel is paired with a guardian. Ventress and his guardian, Dr. Scott Moore, were paired due to the fact that they stock a transportation to Fresno State.
Moore is the dean of the Division of Continuing and Global Education, which operates the Fresno State Veterans Education Program, helping hole veterans to go Fresno State students. Ventress attended Fresno State successful the 1970s, competing arsenic a bull rider with the Fresno rodeo team. He besides met Joy, his woman of 46 years and the parent of their 2 sons and 2 daughters, portion helium was a Fresno State student.
When the radical landed astatine the Baltimore airdrome connected Oct. 14, the veterans were treated with respect and appreciation. Moore described the country aft they landed:
“There were 3 busloads of us, [70 veterans, 70 guardians and astir 20 oregon 30 enactment staff], truthful getting everybody, including galore radical successful wheelchairs, moving is simply a logistical feat. But arsenic we walked done the airdrome and the terminal, radical who saw america stood up and applauded. And you could spot the healing commencement to hap arsenic aboriginal arsenic that.”
It was antithetic from what galore Vietnam veterans experienced erstwhile they returned to the United States aft completing their tours of duty.
“A batch of these Vietnam veterans came location to an unwelcoming assemblage and unwelcoming household successful immoderate cases,” Moore said. “So, successful galore instances, these veterans haven’t shared that communicative [of their clip successful Vietnam] with anybody. And truthful to person the veterans astir each other, supporting each different and sometimes not saying things and different times saying precise profoundly personal, hard things, things they saw, things they experienced, determination was a consciousness of healing done the full trip.”
When Moore learned helium had been paired with Ventress, helium got an email saying, “You’re truly going to similar Joseph. He’s a Fresno State alum, and I anticipation you tin support up with him.”
Ventress and Moore attended a luncheon a week earlier the Honor Flight trip, and past Moore had an predisposition for guardians. Ventress said, “I told him to find retired what happens if the vet goes rogue.”
And guardian and seasoned did conscionable that 1 nighttime portion connected the trip. After dinner, they had immoderate unscheduled time, truthful they took an Uber to spot the Lincoln Memorial astatine night, thing Ventress had wanted to bash that wasn’t connected the authoritative travel itinerary. 
“Joseph truly wanted to spot the Lincoln Memorial,” Moore said. “If you look astatine the itinerary for the trip, they’re each warfare memorials oregon successful immoderate mode associated with the military. The Lincoln Memorial didn’t marque the cut, and it was thing Joseph had said would mean a batch to him.”
But it wasn’t that peculiar infinitesimal oregon the sojourn to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that had the astir important interaction connected Ventress.
“I’m not saying this successful a braggadocious way, but I’ve done a batch of things successful my beingness that were dangerous, that I got distant with, and I’m inactive here. So thing overmuch excites me,” Ventress said. However, a mates of memorable moments during the 3rd time of the Honor Flight impacted him deeply, adjacent arsenic helium described them a week aft returning home.
“We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We watched the changing of the guard, and they enactment 2 wreaths up successful a ceremony,” Ventress said. “When we walked out, determination had to beryllium much than 200 kids lining the walkway, arsenic acold arsenic you could see, each wanting to high-five and fist-bump us, saying, ‘Thank you for your service.’ These were precocious schoolhouse and inferior precocious schoolhouse kids, and it was emotional. Right now, I tin inactive consciousness the emotion from that experience.”
Another memorable infinitesimal came erstwhile the Honor Flight radical stopped astatine Fort McHenry National Monument, wherever Francis Scott Key was inspired during the War of 1812 to constitute the poem that aboriginal became “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Ventress described however the veterans gathered astir an tremendous emblem successful the fort courtyard.
“You’ve seen connected shot games wherever they person a large emblem retired there, and everybody’s got a clasp of it. That’s what we did. And past they had america sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner.’ It was hard to get done that song, adjacent close now. It was hard to get done that opus without becoming emotional. Because if you work the words and deliberation astir what was happening and the value of the clip and what they were warring for.”
Ventress prayed with different Christian veterans astatine the antithetic memorials, including praying for the United States portion astatine the ramparts astatine Fort McHenry.
Since it was founded successful October 2013, Central Valley Honor Flight (an affiliate of the nationalist Honor Flight Network) has raised much than $6 cardinal to money 30 flights, transporting much than 2,010 veterans of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War to the nation’s capital.
Bullriding and rodeo beingness wasn’t thing Ventress discovered aft his subject time. It’s a thread that’s tally done his full life, from the archetypal clip his ma took him to the Sheriff’s Championship Rodeo successful the Los Angeles Coliseum erstwhile helium was 6 years old. Later, arsenic a teenager, helium worked astatine a unchangeable and moved up to bull riding. Before his Vietnam tours, Ventress continued to vie successful all-service rodeos astir the state.
After helium near the Navy, Ventress utilized his G.I. Bill benefits to be classes astatine Piece Junior College successful Los Angeles. He had planned to decorativeness his acquisition astatine Cal Poly Pomona, but different rodeo workfellow told him that Fresno State’s rodeo squad needed a bull rider, truthful helium changed course. And if helium hadn’t, helium apt wouldn’t person recovered Joy and go a household man.
Coming location from their whirlwind cross-country trip, Ventress and Moore were met by respective 100 excited family, friends and assemblage members astatine Fresno Yosemite International Airport, including Joy, their children and grandchildren.
“That was mode much than immoderate of america expected,” Ventress said. “I person seen it galore times connected TV, but this was disconnected the chart. It was each precise emotional.”
Ultimately, the hard-to-impress Ventress confirms the transformational quality of the Honor Flight experience.
“It’s life-changing. People said that to me, and I said, ‘Pft. What’s life-changing astir it?’ After experiencing it, I’m telling you that it’s different. And it’s thing that a batch of vets request to cheque out.”
