Former Buena Vista County sheriff honored on Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight

Former Buena Vista County sheriff Chuck Eddy carried more than his own military history onto the latest Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight. The Alta resident, who served in the U.S. Air Force near Saigon from 1970 to 1971 as a member of the security police force, was among about 150 veterans, volunteers and medical staff who made the day-long trip to Washington, D.C., on May 26.

For Eddy, the most meaningful stop came at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. There he found the name of his cousin’s brother, along with the name of a family friend from Nemaha, Kenny Roche. The wall’s 58,318 names, representing Americans who died in combat or are missing in action, gave that moment added weight for veterans and relatives from northwest Iowa who have lived with those losses for decades.

Eddy was not the only Buena Vista County name on the flight. Also aboard were Edward Rice of Alta, Eldon Angeroth of Early and John Phelps of Sioux Rapids, showing how the Honor Flight linked veterans from several county communities on the same day. Their trip connected local lives to a national place of remembrance, and it underscored how many families in the area still have direct ties to the Vietnam era.

Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight has become a regional effort built on volunteers and donations. Local government pages say the program has flown about 3,500 veterans on 27 flights, serving roughly 61 counties and 228 communities, with about 400 veterans still on the waiting list. The 28th flight departed Fort Dodge at about 6:30 a.m. that morning, bound for Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.

The program itself fits into a larger national tradition that began in May 2005 with Honor Flight Network, which was first focused on World War II veterans before expanding to include Korean War and Vietnam War veterans. In northwest Iowa, that work has taken shape through Brushy Creek’s volunteer-run 501(c)(3) and the people who keep it moving, including the board now led by Sara Murphy. “It’s exciting to see everything come together,” Murphy said, as the latest trip departed and another group of veterans was recognized for service that still resonates in Buena Vista County.