Land of Lincoln Honor Flight to Washington Included Sullivan Veteran
John D. Ruscin
•May 18, 2016•
Land of Lincoln Honor Flight (LLHF) of Springfield flew with 80 veterans of World War II, Korean and Vietnam War eras on their Honor Flight trip to Washington, DC Tuesday, May 17. They departed Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport shortly after 6 a.m. on board a chartered 737 jetliner, then were met by three coach buses in DC.
John D. Ruscin of Sullivan was on board the jetliner. Ruscin joined the Navy and spent the end of World War II in the Pacific in preparation for the invasion of Japan, which was averted by dropping the atomic bomb.
Ruscin went on an Landing Ship Tank (LST) sweeping the waters around Japan for underwater mines.
After the war, Ruscin came to Sullivan to teach and coach at Sullivan Junior High School. That is where he met his wife Anna who was an art teacher.
Included during the day were stops at the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War National Memorials, the Air Force and Marine (Iwo Jima) Memorials and Arlington National Cemetery. They visited the cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and witnessed the changing of the guard. During the day the veterans had the opportunity to tour the National Air & Space Museum that houses aircraft from WWI to the Superfortress bomber Enola Gay of WWII all the way up through the retired Space Shuttle Discovery. They also had the chance to view the Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, the Pentagon and much more prior to departing back to the Springfield airport.