LJ Takes of Monticello was part of the May 28 Honor Flight to D.C. Here, he stands at the “Three Soldiers” statue near the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
Cory Recker, Takes’ guardian on the flight, pushes him past a sea of people to welcome the veterans home at the Cedar Rapids airport.
Takes (right) and Recker stand in front of the reflecting pool at the National Mall with the Washington Monument in the background. (Photos submitted)
Takes had quite the crew of family and friends awaiting his return home from the Honor Flight.
“Everybody treated us great! It was pretty impressive, very impressive!”
Those words were shared by LJ Takes of Monticello, a Vietnam-era veteran who recently went on the May 28 Eastern Iowa Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
This was Takes’ first time in our nation’s capital, and he took in all of memorials and monuments with his fellow veterans.
“Some fought in wars, some didn’t,” he said. “Regardless, we all went through basic training. We all had the same feelings when we saw those memorials and monuments. We were all blown away.”
Takes said he had no idea just how many stops and sites were included on the Honor Flight.
A couple of months before the trip, he received a phone call saying his name had come up for the most recent Honor Flight.
Takes chose to ask Cory Recker, of Hopkinton, to accompany him on the trip as his guardian.
“Cory didn’t argue,” he said of the invite.
Takes has been working as a “foreman” for Recker on their farm for roughly three years now.
“He treats me great,” said Takes.
When he was 14 years old, Takes started working for local farmers, a trade he picked up from his father.
“All I know is work, and I don’t intend to quit. I love to work.”
Takes also restores antique tractors.
“There are only so many tractor rides to go on,” he joked of needing to keep busy.
When Takes was 18, he enlisted in the Army National Guard in 1964. He served for six years, until 1970 when he was discharged.
“My dad and brother were both in the Army,” he recalled.
He was sent to South Carolina for basic training, and later to Fort Bragg, N.C.
Takes worked in the motor pool while in the service, assisting the mechanic.
“We were all a bunch of kids, 18 and 19 years old.”
Takes served all six years stateside.
“Things were just getting warmed up,” he said of the Vietnam War. “I knew a bunch of guys my age over there.”
Takes recalled some fun times, though, in the service. He and his fellow soldiers would race Army jeeps around the base.
“It was all fine and dandy until one lad rolled it. That ended that real fast. But we all had a ball.”
When Takes returned home from the service, his brother picked him up from the airport in Cedar Rapids.
“Then the next day, we just went to work.”
He got a job with Kenny Hosch at his implement business before starting his own electric business, Takes Electric. After 51.5 years in business, in 2021, Takes had to step down.
In talking about the Honor Flight, Takes marveled at seeing the Pentagon, the Vietnam Wall, and Arlington National Cemetery.
He said Arlington is like the Rock Island National Cemetery in Illinois, only much bigger.
“Hundreds and hundreds of stones are all lined up perfectly, and they keep adding more. You’re at a loss for words,” he said of the sea of white stones.
Takes was also impressed by the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
“They are very precise,” he said. “It was just all so spectacular!”
Having worked in the construction industry for most of his life, Takes could really appreciate the craftsmanship of the national monuments and memorials in D.C.
“It’s just unreal, every one of them! I don’t know how an artist can do it.
When their flight landed in D.C. to start the day, Takes said complete strangers stood there clapping for the veterans.
“Heck, we even had a standing ovation!” he said.
At one stop, a busload of students got out and lined up to shake the veterans’ hands.
“That felt pretty good,” remarked Takes.
But it was getting off the plane back in Cedar Rapids that brought tears to Takes’ eyes.
“It was so emotional,” he said.
As the last ones off the plane, Recker pushed Takes in a wheelchair past lines of highway officers, members of the law enforcement, American Legion members, Knights of Columbus members, and friends and family of those on the flight.
“There was just so many people you couldn’t see the end,” he said. “People were handing you flags.”
When he finally saw some familiar faces, Takes was speechless. His family and close friends came to welcome him home…
“They were all pretty tight-lipped,” he said of keeping their presence a secret.