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Last-minute notice: Lansing invited to welcome two Vietnam veterans home

Wednesday, October 16, around 9:30pm

by Melanie Jongsma

LANSING, Ill. (October 14, 2019) – Honor Flight Chicago’s last flight of the season is this Wednesday, October 16, and two Lansing veterans will be aboard. Marine veteran Dennis Kranc and Army veteran Kenny Janowski will be honored for their service with a day in Washington, DC.

Whenever a Lansing resident is on Honor Flight Chicago, the American Legion Riders from Edward Schultz Chapter 697 volunteer to escort that veteran home at the end of the day. The September Honor Flight included Lansing WWII veteran Otha Brownlow, but the Riders were unable to contact him ahead of time to get his approval for the escort. “We don’t want to force it on anybody,” explained Legion Rider President Nick Grigutis. The last opportunity the Legion Riders had to escort a Lansing veteran was in June of this year, when Frank Schuster, a Navy veteran of the Korean War, returned home from his Honor Flight.

The Lansing community is invited to join the Legion Riders in welcoming Kranc and Janowski home to Lansing after their day of honor this Wednesday. The Riders will gather at Sunrise Health Foods (17650 Torrence Avenue) around 9:30pm and wait to receive word that the guests of honor are on their way.

Honor Flight participants typically are driven from Midway to Lansing by family, and representatives from the Legion Riders, Lansing Police Department, and Lansing Fire Department meet them as they exit the highway onto Torrence. After a brief welcome in the parking lot of Sunrise Health Foods, the veterans are given a hero’s escort—with sirens, lights, and entourage—to their homes or to the American Legion.

No RSVP is required. Anyone who wishes to join the welcome is invited to meet at Sunrise Health Foods at 9:30pm.

Related: A look at Honor Flight

Related: What Honor Flight Chicago is all about

Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma
Melanie Jongsma grew up in Lansing, Illinois, and believes The Lansing Journal has an important role to play in building community through trustworthy information.