UW-Oshkosh football team assists veterans with “unforgettable” Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight at EAA AirVenture

Surrounded by huge crowds of family, friends, military members and EAA AirVenture attendees, UW-Oshkosh football players assist veterans returning from their Honor Flight trip Friday to Washington, D.C.

Emotions soared at the "Welcome Home" for 100 Vietnam War veterans with the Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight at the packed EAA AirVenture grounds-and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh football players and coaches were part of it all.

Sons, daughters, spouses and grandchildren were among the crowd lining an aisle as they waited Friday evening for veterans after they had been flown to Washington, D.C., free of charge, to visit the memorials built in their honor.

"I think this program is great," said Austin Nelson of Greenville who was watching for his father to return to Oshkosh.

UWO football answers the call

UWO head football coach Peter Jennings said the EAA Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight is one of the most meaningful traditions of EAA AirVenture. Members of the team assist veterans with the early morning departure and again with the evening arrival.

In a whirlwind, one-day trip, veterans return to Oshkosh at the conclusion of the Friday afternoon air show.

"Thousands of AirVenture attendees gather to provide an unforgettable 'Welcome Home' celebration-a tribute many Vietnam veterans never received when they first returned from service," Jennings said. "The mission is made possible through Missions of Honor, EAA, American Airlines and hundreds of dedicated volunteers. The event is truly emotionally moving, both for our student-athletes and the veterans we are able to help."

UWO football player, Jacob Buck, a senior marketing student from Jackson, was among 20 players and coaches who arrived by 4 a.m., to help veterans get to the plane and load supplies.

"My dad and grandpa are both veterans," Buck said. "They've done everything for us and I'm just really appreciative. I wanted to give back in this way."

Fellow football player Kaleb Brooks, a senior marketing student from Brillion, called it a "very humbling experience" helping the veterans got to Washington, D.C.

"We're all getting up at three in the morning to come out here," he said. "It's good to be here with your teammates and to experience something really cool."

Longtime defensive coordinator, coach Craig Stenbroten, himself a UWO alumnus, has been helping with the event since its start more than 15 years ago.

"We're honoring Korean War and Vietnam War veterans," he said. "When we started this, it was World War II veterans. We've been here since the Honor Flight has been at EAA."

In addition to visiting monuments in Washington, he said the Honor Flight provides the opportunity for the veterans to receive a big thank you and welcome home they may not have received years ago.

Stenbroten said it's great to see players in a different setting than the weight room, meeting room, or practice field-getting to know them on a more personal level and watch them interact with people.

In all the years of assisting with the Honor Flight, Stenbroten said it's never been a problem to get player-volunteers. He has a team of about 20 in the early morning departure and a similar group assisting with the evening Honor Flight return.

Nickolas Dunn, a fall 2021 UWO graduate, said he's been coming seven or eight years to help.

"I had family members who were World War II veterans and those were the veterans going (on Honor Flights) when I was growing up," he said. "Since I started helping here, its been Vietnam-era veterans and it's nice to see that transition."

He shared that being able to give the veterans the welcome home they didn't get, brings a tear to their eyes and a very touching experience to share with them.

Hometown hero

Veteran Leo Mueller of Oshkosh was on the flight and had a contingent of about a dozen family members, holding signs, waiting for his return. Among them, was grandson Samuel, a member of the Air Force.

Mueller's wife, Mary Mueller, said she met Leo after he returned from Vietnam and two years later they were married.

She said he was a little anxious about the trip and wanted to see the granite wall listing the names of the fallen-he knew soldiers who didn't come home. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial lists the names of 58,318 Americans who died in the war or remain missing.

Mueller was accompanied by his daughter, Christine Mack, and both were in awe of the huge crowd waiting at AirVenture and the dozens of soldiers saluting him upon return.

For the UWO football team, the Honor Flight offers a unique way for athletes to respect and help celebrate veterans for all they have done for the country.

"This is about giving back to the people who made it possible for us to be here today," said John Morelli, a volunteer with the Titan Touchdown Booster Club.

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