EXCELSIOR SPRINGS, Mo. (Oct. 5, 2024) – Two Excelsior Springs Vietnam Veterans, Dean Pierson and Ron Smith, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., on an all-inclusive trip courtesy of The Heartland Honor Flight Network.
The Honor Flight Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring American Veterans, gave Dean and Ron the experience of a lifetime as they toured memorials commemorating their bravery, sacrifice, and service to the United States. The trip allowed both men to reflect on their service and the camaraderie they shared with fellow servicemen.
Dean served in the Army after being drafted in 1965. He spent time at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, near Jefferson City, for both basic training and advanced individual training (AIT) before being shipped to Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana.
While stationed in Indiana, he attended school and became a finance clerk. He was then dispatched to Fort Lee, Washington, as a soldier under the Army’s Fourth Infantry Division. Dean was in Washington for a year before receiving his orders and was then deployed to Vietnam in September 1966…