Glacier student, veteran to embark on Honor Flight

Wayne Bolton, 84, and Tristen Lang, 18, are at different chapters in their lives. The thread binding the generations is the military.

Bolton, a retired Marine Capt., has a 27-year military career that included serving in the Korean War and Vietnam War. Lang, a senior at Glacier High School, will start Air Force basic training in September.

Together, Bolton and Lang will complete a chapter that began with an interview as they embark Monday to Washington, D.C., for a two-day trip touring war memorials through the Honor Flight Network.

On Thursday, Lang stopped by Bolton’s home to talk about the trip and how they met. It was Lang’s history teacher, Mark Armstrong, who helped him get in touch with Bolton to set up an interview about Bolton’s military service.

“Mr. Armstrong has a battles class and I’m going into the Air Force so I’ve just always been interested in the military,” Lang said. “He and I like to interview veterans when we meet them — get their stories down before they’re gone.”

Armstrong learned that Bolton had been part of the “Chosin Few” after seeing a bumper sticker on his vehicle referencing the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir, a decisive Korean War battle that was fought under brutal weather conditions in some of the roughest terrain.

“We were studying the Chosin Reservoir, which is a pretty horrific battle. Sometimes the temperatures would get to minus 40 degrees,” Lang said.

After Lang interviewed Bolton about his military service, which included receiving a Purple Heart, Bolton mentioned the Honor Flight program, which Lang didn’t know too much about.

Bolton said a friend had given him an application, but it was to fly out of Minneapolis, which was too far.

“I thought surely we have one closer,” Lang said. “The afternoon I interviewed him I didn’t tell him I was going to look into it and I brought him an application and I said if this is something you’re interested in I’ll apply with you and this is something we can go to together.”

The pair leaves for Spokane, Washington on Sunday where they will fly out to Washington D.C. Monday morning. There will be approximately 96 veterans from World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War on the Honor Flight.

It has been nearly 50 years since Bolton has been in Washington D.C.

“I went to defense intelligence school before the Vietnam wall was erected and [I] never did see the Korean Memorial,” Bolton said.

Over two days, veterans and guardians such as Lang who assist veterans on the trip, are scheduled to visit the National World War II Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Women in Military Service for America Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, United States Navy Memorial and Marine Corps War Memorial.

For many veterans the Honor Flight experience will be a time to seek closure, remember and honor fellow soldiers and friends.

“I had two tours in Vietnam, one of them was at the helicopter squadron and the other one was with the 1st Marine Division,” Bolton said before turning to the Korean War.

“I lost real good friends in Korea, in Chosin Reservoir,” he said trying to remember names. “One of them was by the name of Page — Billy. He was a member of my platoon he was lost during the Air Force drop and there was one tank they were guarding. They didn’t make it back. He was killed in action I’m sure.”

For Lang, it will also be a time of contemplation being just months away from starting his military service. Getting Bolton on an Honor Flight was something he could do to thank him.

“I guess to me, it was just beyond the interviews — a little bit more that I could do for Wayne and to thank him.”

For more information on the Honor Flight Network visit www.honorflight.org.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.