SIOUX CENTER—Midwest Honor Flight provided the journey of a lifetime for Vietnam War veteran Ran Van Den Berg on Sept. 10.
For one day’s trip, the 71-year-old Sioux Center native got to see a lot around Washington, D.C.
Of course, one of the highlights of his time there was getting to visit the Vietnam War Memorial, where he had a few paper rubbings done. He had the names of Arlin Franken and Randy Schutt, both Sioux Center men who died in the Vietnam War. He also had one done of a shipmate, a commander who was shot down in 1972.
“The biggest highlight was the welcoming committee there at the Washington, D.C. airport. There was a bunch of people there with signs, and they were clapping and thanking us for our service. Dozens of people. Then there was the big reception at the Sioux Falls airport,” Van Den Berg said. “Those things were the most exciting. … It touched me.”
On this flight were 84 veterans: one World War II veteran, seven Korean War veterans and 76 Vietnam War veterans.
This was Midwest Honor Flight’s fourth flight this fall, and its 12th mission since its founding. Its 13th mission is scheduled for Oct. 1.
Midwest Honor Flight president Aaron Van Beek said this trip was sponsored by Seed for Success Foundation of Sioux Falls, SD, which awarded $150,000 to cover the costs of the flight.
Van Den Berg enlisted in the Navy when he was 18 years old, serving 1969-73. He signed up right after graduating from high school. He just didn’t think college was right for him, and he was motivated by other family members’ military service.
“My dad was in the service, my brother was in the service. My uncle, Marv Boone, he was in the Navy years ago. A bit of inspiration out of him. He was an electronic technician, and that’s what I became, too, an aviation electronic technician,” Van Den Berg said.
In August 1969, Van Den Berg began basic training out at San Diego. He would go on to Memphis, TN, for six months of electronics training before he was presented with a choice: stay in San Diego and work as a mess cook or fly out to a ship so he could serve there.
“I thought, well, I came here to go overseas,” Van Den Berg said, so he joined the USS Bonhomme Richard, nicknamed the Bonnie Dick.
As an aviation electronic technician, aboard an aircraft carrier, he would work to repair any kind of electrical problems on the jets before they had to take off again. One item commonly in need of repairs were the radios.
But working on aircraft on the deck could be dangerous. He recalled one time a plane landed hard on deck, sending its propeller flying off, hurtling into the ship’s superstructure.
Blast shields on these ships helps redirect the tremendous force generated by the jets when taking off, and men were supposed to duck behind them for cover.
“This one A-7 wasn’t square on it, he was crooked. There was a fuel guy standing beside me behind that blast shield. All of a sudden, I hear, ‘Man overboard, man overboard.’ That guy got blown overboard. … He didn’t brace himself enough, I guess, or he got more of the blast,” he said.
The man overboard was picked up by a destroyer in short order.
During his time in the Navy, Van Den Berg was able to create long-lasting friendships.
“When you live with somebody 24/7 aboard a ship and you work together 12 hours a day or more, you really build relationships,” Van Den Berg said. “There are still five guys I have close contact with today yet, 50 years later. … Your life depended on them.”
He has no doubts that his time in the Navy was good for him.
Upon returning to civilian life, he’d return to his father’s business, Furniture Mart in Sioux Center, which he’d go on to own. Since then, ownership of the business has passed on to the next generation with his sons.
He and his wife, LuAnn, have three children, a girl and two sons, and have 10 grandchildren.