After returning to San Diego at the end of World War II, where he had participated in the Battle of Okinawa, Louis Cañedo became a school counselor at Montgomery High School, in the South Bay.

He said his experiences during the war made him try to help young Latinos to be able to face all the barriers they could meet in their lives.

“Most people don’t experience what I saw during the war,” said Cañedo, who is 87 years old. “The tragedy, the bloodshed. As a high school counselor, I was able to help the youth to be better prepared to handle anything they could face in the future.”

Cañedo was one of 80 World War II veterans who flew to Washington, D.C., to visit several historical sites as part of the Honor Flight San Diego, which took place on Saturday, November 2nd.

The veterans spent all day Saturday traveling by motor coach to see the WWII Memorial followed by the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery. They all toured the Korean, Iwo Jima, Vietnam, and Air Force Memorials, and the Navy Yard Museum.

The veterans traveled at no personal expense thanks to generous donations made to Honor Flight San Diego.

“It was just fantastic, it was very nice,” said Cañedo of the trip. “It was more than what I expected. Visiting all those sites was really impressive.”

On Sunday, the veterans returned to San Diego on a chartered US Airways flight after visiting the WWII Memorial for the first time. They were honored with a water cannon salute as the plane approached the gate. Friends and family welcomed home the veterans, many of which are in their late 80s and 90s, with cheers and flags waving.

“When we came home from the war we didn’t get anything like that,” Cañedo said. “It is really nice that people show some appreciation of what World War II veterans did when they were young.”

Honor Flight San Diego is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for their service, said founder Dave A. Smith.

“None of the World War II veterans were thanked in the past,” he said. “These trips are just a small thank you for all they did for our country.”

Smith said that Honor Flight San Diego hosts about three trips a year thanks to donations. This year, in addition to the November flight, they hosted two more, one in May and another one in October.

At the moment the organization is focusing on World War II veterans, but in the future it will also include Korea, and Vietnam veterans.

During the trip, each veteran was accompanied by a guardian, which could be a relative. Cañedo had his son, Louis Jr., with him.

Louis Jr. said that being with his father on this trip was an unforgettable experience for both of them.

“It’s hard to put the experience into words,” he said. “It couldn’t have been more perfect. It was very well organized. There was a sense of gratitude right from the start. The veterans were all brothers, everybody was nice to everybody.”

For Cañedo, who after the war graduated from the University of San Diego with a degree in biology, the trip was a recognition many Mexican-American veterans never received.

“We had to take a back seat in the past,” he said. “But now we’re being recognized for our bravery and service.”
Information about Honor Flight San Diego is available on-line at www.honorflightsandiego.org.