Bob Dawson and Tyler Recker both signed up for the military at the tender age of 17.
It was 1943 and Dawson of the Village of Hadley would go on to serve 26 years in the Navy.
Recker, now 18, will depart for basic training this summer.
The two men will make the journey of a lifetime in April when they travel together to Washington D.C. on a Villages Honor Flight.
Recker will serve as Dawson’s Guardian, seeing to it that Dawson is able to travel and comfort and ease. It is a long day for the entire party leaving in the wee hours of the morning, flying up and back in the same 24-hour period.
“It is an honor to be able to do this,” said Recker, a resident of Lady Lake and student at Leesburg High School.
The Lime Green Squadron will be part of the April Honor Flight. The World War II veterans, Guardians and some spouses of the Lime Green Squadron met for lunch at Perkins in The Villages on Monday. It was a chance for members of the squadron to get to know each other better.
Myron Guisewite of the Plantation in Leesburg flew a C-47 at Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. His plane hauled paratroopers and gliders, often flying at low altitudes.
In one exchange, his plane was shot at from the ground and he had to crash land in a field.
“We were lucky,” Guisewite said.
He is eager to visit the Air Force Memorial and find his name etched into the monument. He also expects to see the names of men he knew during his time in Europe.
He served 18 months during World War II and then 18 months during the post-war occupation.
“The occupation was much better. That was more like being a tourist,” he said.
He will be traveling with Guardian Diana Bernard. It will be her third Honor Flight.
Their trip is slated for April 27.
