BENNETT KARNIS COURTESY PHOTO | Shelter Island veterans at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Saturday.

“Fabulous, fantastic, amazing” were some of the words one Shelter Islander used to describe Saturday’s trip to Washington, D.C. for him and 23 other local veterans to see the war memorials erected in their honor around the Mall.

They got the full treatment. It included a Town Police escort on the Island and a motorcycle escort the whole way to MacArthur Airport; a greeting from Naval Academy midshipmen at Baltimore-Washington Airport; a visit with Senator Bob Dole at the World War II memorial he fought to see built; and a late-night welcome home with a band and Fire Department flag and water-arch display.

Town Police Officer Tom Cronin raised the funds to pay all the expenses through word of mouth, an ad and letters in the Reporter and through Facebook. Checks were made out to Honor Flight Long Island, the local chapter of a national non-profit, which made the arrangements for flights, meals, buses, escorts and greetings in Baltimore and Washington. Working with the Shelter Island Police and Fire Departments as well as U.S. Veterans Motorcycle Club’s Long Island Chapter, Officer Cronin made many of the other arrangements on this end.

Those of us who never served in combat can only imagine the powerful experience of an Honor Flight excursion for war vets. As painful as such a trip might be, it must also be heartwarming for them to know they are remembered and appreciated for their willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

Officer Cronin deserves thanks, too, as do all those who made donations and helped make the trip happen.

A detailed account of the trip will appear in the November 8 edition, the issue preceding Veterans Day.