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WWII veteran's Honor Flight Maine trip almost didn't happen

Tom Daley, 91, is a World War II veteran from Scarborough. He recently went on the Honor Flight Maine trip. The veteran tells NEWS CENTER Maine his journey to Washington, D.C., almost never happened.

(NEWS CENTER Maine) -- Honor Flight Maine is a nonprofit organization transporting local heroes to Washington, D.C., to tour the memorials built to honor their service. Veterans like 91-year-old Tom Daley of Scarborough.

Out of the friends serving with him, Daley says he is the last one left.

Daley had an opportunity to remember them, and thousands of others he fought alongside, after a trip to Washington, D.C., on Honor Flight Maine.

“We were wined and dined and escorted everywhere," Daley said. "We drove around Washington at about 40 miles per hour with a police escort. We had tops seats for the changing of the guard, the Veterans' Memorial and the Women’s Memorial.”

When he visited the World War II Memorial, Daley was "taken back."

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His Honor Flight journey almost didn't happen.

Daley describes an encounter with a woman at a Maine Walmart, while he was developing a photo of him in uniform. A woman learned that he served in World War II while the two chatted in line. Daley says she found out his name and connected him with the organization. Daley told NEWS CENTER Maine that he hadn't heard of Honor Flight Maine until he received a phone call.

Daley enlisted in the Navy in 1944 and is a retired Fireman First Class. He was a gunner on the U.S.S. Saint Paul and says he witnessed the signing of the Peace Treaty of Japan aboard the U.S.S. Missouri.

Honor Flight Maine is looking for veterans go on future flights, especially the 1,200 World War Two veterans left in Maine, according to the organization's website.

NEWS CENTER Maine is hosting a telethon to support Honor Flight Maine on Thursday, Nov. 15.

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