Tom Rudolph is a Korean War vet and served in the Army in 1953 and 1954. He lived in Minnesota at the time of his service, but has otherwise lived in Rhinelander and was a research scientist at the forestry sciences lab. To thank him for his service, students and staff at Pelican Elementary put on a popcorn fundraiser to send him on the Never Forgotten Honor Flight. They surprised him this morning at their annual Veteran’s Day program. Rudolph says he never saw it coming…
“..I never expected anything like this…I came
for our great granddaughter’s invitation here and didn’t know anything about it. I applied for an Honor Flight and knew I wanted to go and wouldn’t be going in April, but didn’t think I’d be getting a free ride I guess…”
The Never Forgotten Honor Flight was started by Jim Campbell and Mike Thompson and has flown nearly 2,400 veterans to Washington D.C. since its start seven years ago today. Students and staff at Pelican Elementary raised $1,000 and presented Campbell and Thompson with the check this morning.
The cost for a round trip ticket on the Honor Flight is about $500. Rudolph and another vet will be flying to Washington D.C. in April.
