Vietnam, Desert Storm veteran experiences D.C. with Honor Flight

Joel Millard Doss was among veterans of all ages on the May 17 Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., and at the age of 77, the Ocoee resident considered himself the “kid” on the flight. The United States Army veteran of the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars shared an airplane with a 105-year-old World War II veteran, as well as former service members from other military branches and wars.

The nonprofit Honor Flight Central Florida organization flies Central Florida veterans to the nation’s capital at no cost to them. The original intent of the national Honor Flight program was to allow World War II veterans the opportunity to see their war memorial, which was finished when these men and women were nearing an advanced age where individual travel might not be possible. 

The program has expanded to include veterans who served in the Korean, Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars.

It was an early day for Doss, a retired sergeant first class; his escort and guardian, close family friend George Plate; and the rest of the flight, which took off from the Orlando Sanford International Airport. After a celebratory sendoff and landing with a water cannon salute over the plane, the participants were escorted to each of the war memorials at the National Mall. Doss said his favorite was the Korean War memorial, with its black granite walls and upright stainless steel soldiers. It was a moving experience to revisit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, as well. He last saw the memorial wall more than 20 years ago and looked up the names of some of his fellow soldiers.

Honor Flight veterans also received a prime viewing area for the emotional Changing of the Guard ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery.

A highlight for Doss was when his granddaughter, Kiarnan Kaleshefski, traveled from West Virginia to surprise him and walk around the monuments with him.

After a full day of touring, the group prepared for the flight home.

While waiting at the airport to return to Florida, the veterans participated in a mail call, like those in the military, and each one received an envelope of letters and cards from local children.

Upon their arrival in Orlando, veterans and guardians were greeted with pipers, saluting cub scouts and their family and friends with balloons and “welcome home” signs.

It was a solemn and humbling experience, he said.

“When I came back from Vietnam, there was no fanfare,” Doss said. “I was a ‘baby killer’ when I came back from Vietnam. When I came back from Desert Storm, I was a hero.”

Doss’ daughter, Cherice Gertsman, was part of the entourage of family and friends greeting veterans after their trip.

“What struck me was you could tell the Vietnam veterans (who) came back from the Honor Flight trip that day,” she said. “A lot of them had tears in their eyes because they never got that, so I’d like to think that was a very healing day. There were a lot of people there.”

A CAREER IN UNIFORM
Doss was 18 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1965 — in the middle of the Vietnam War. By his 19th birthday, he was fighting in Saigon, Vietnam, as a specialist first class with the 18th Brigade, 547th Engineer Battalion. He earned the unofficial title Master Blaster for his role in blowing up bridges, he said.

“I had close calls in Vietnam,” Doss said. “I was shot at but escaped. The guy pulled the trigger, and it clicked. When he did that, I emptied a magazine at him, and he took off.”

Doss said before cataracts later in life robbed him of his excellent eyesight, he was a sharpshooter who could hit a target at 800 meters with iron sights.

He left the Army after three years, spent time in the Army Reserves and reenlisted at the urging of his wife, Cheri.

In 1990, he was sent to the Middle East to fight in the Persian Gulf War in Operation Desert Storm. He was a first sergeant with a military transportation company. 

“I was in Dhahran 15 minutes and a Scud (missile) and a Patriot (missile) went over my head,” he said. “I thought I was going to die. Another time, a Scud hit a mud hole, and a big orange cloud was coming right at me.”

There were some positive moments during his time in Saudi Arabia, like the time he was able to spend the day with his daughter, Shannon, who also was serving in the U.S. Army in the Middle East. She was stationed at Log Base Charlie, a logistics base within traveling distance to her father’s location in Dhahran. It was a wonderful reunion, he said.

The memorial of that day especially is important to Doss now. Shannon Doss-Kaleshefski died in 2011 of glioblastoma, a cancer related to the burning oil and trash pits that surrounded the soldiers deployed to the area, the family said.

Doss’ last official active-duty discharge was in 1994. 

He lives at Madison at Ocoee, an assisted-living facility on North Clarke Road. Aside from his military deployments, he has lived his entire life in Ocoee and he and his late wife raised their children there. In addition to his daughter, all four of his brothers served in the military.