A letter to the editor written by Don Kunz and published in The Bulletin on Aug. 29, has a headline, “Walden has not done enough for veterans.”

Let me tell you what he has done for veterans and is doing. I’m sure many of you have heard of the Honor Flight. It is a program that sends veterans to Washington, D.C., all expenses paid. It is a national program, but I will tell you about Oregon’s program. Here in Bend, we have a Heroes Foundation that sponsors the Honor Flight, and raises the funds. We have sent 559 World War II veterans to D.C. There were two flights per year, each taking 50 veterans, flying out of Portland. There was a total of 15 flights. The vets came from Central and Eastern Oregon and the greater Portland area. The main event was the spending of time at the WWII Memorial, but two full days allowed time to see all the memorials and Arlington Cemetery.

In addition to each veteran, he or she had to have a guardian. It was usually a wife, a son or a daughter. This made for a traveling party of 100-plus staff. A medical team of a doctor and a nurse was included because these vets were in their 90s. The Honor Flight ran smoothly because it was very well organized by Dick and Erik Tobiason. They procured the money, made the hotel and airplane reservations and planned when and where to meet with Greg Walden.

Greg Walden always participated. He spent the first morning of each trip at the WWII Memorial, where he visited with each veteran and presented each with a flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol building. Over the years, he was able to come up with 800 flags. 559 were given to the veterans and the rest were donated to the Heroes Foundation for use in Bend special events, parades, etc. After the morning at the WWII Memorial, the entire party was invited to the U.S. Capitol for lunch and a tour of the Capitol. Greg Walden was there, spending more time with the vets and having pictures taken. Our two senators often participated, as well. Each veteran was presented with a copy, stating the presence of the Oregon Honor Flight, to be put in the Congressional Record.

Bend, and other Central Oregon cities, have veterans’ groups known as Band of Brothers. The Bend chapter meets at Jake’s every Monday morning for breakfast. Greg Walden has attended several of these when he is making rounds in Oregon.

Perhaps one of the more important things that Greg Walden has been able to accomplish, relative to veterans, is that now it is possible for a veteran to make a choice where he, or she, will get medical treatment. The veteran can choose to see a local doctor instead of having to go to the Portland VA Hospital, unless he needs highly specialized treatment or surgery. Of course there is a Veteran’s Clinic in Bend that takes care of most problems, including mental health. For veterans that live more than 40 miles from a VA clinic, they can see a doctor of their choosing. Also, a veteran with an emergency can go to the local hospital as there are no emergency services at the clinic.

I hope this information will help us decide that we need to keep Greg Walden on board as our representative. Experience counts!

— Harley D. Kelley is a board member for the Heroes Foundation of Eastern Oregon.