House burns, but World War II vet undeterred for Honor Flight
His home is in shambles, but George Yohn is not letting it halt his trip to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
Yohn's house in Greensburg was in flames on Saturday. Neighbors helped the 91-year-old out of the residence safely, but the house was severely damaged.
Yohn, a WWII veteran, had planned to participate in a Kansas Honor Flight on Tuesday to visit the memorial.
The trip will continue as scheduled.
"We just keep on going," said George's son, Rex. "This stuff happens in life and it's not fun, but you have to pick up the pieces and go. I asked him, 'Do you want to go?' He said, 'Let's go,' so I said 'We'll do 'er.'"
The flight has been planned for weeks. Rex said when he found out his father wanted to go on the trip, he was eager to go, as well. His nephew will also be flying in from Omaha for the event.
"I hadn't even known that he had signed up for an honor flight, but they said, 'yes, he's signed up, and when that happens, we contact family members to find out if they'd be willing to go as guardians,'" Rex said. "I said, 'Oh yes, you bet.'"
George was stationed at an air base north of Pratt when he joined the Army Air Corps. He later was shifted to the west coast before shipped overseas to Saipan and Iwo Jima.
Rex said he had moved George's old military photos out of the house a year before, which kept them safe from the fire. They are looking to soon set up an apartment for George.
The honor flight will send 27 other veterans along with George.
"The chance came up, and he's in good health," Rex said. "He gets to go see the memorial that's dedicated to what he and a lot of other World War II veterans have done. It's way overdue for them.
"They can have some very serious pride about what they've done. You're talking about a world gone half mad, and they had to step up to the plate. Somebody had to step up and do something about it, and they stepped up and they handled it."



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