Coast veterans visit National WWII Museum

In honor of Veterans Day approaching, today the Riemann Family Funeral Home took a group of veterans to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. For the seventh year in a row, veterans on the Coast shared laughs, tears, and memories about the front lines.

About 140 veterans took the trip to the Big Easy to visit the World War II Museum. This tradition started seven years ago with the Riemann Family Funeral Home showing appreciation to those who fought for our freedom. Riemann Family Funeral Homes president Chad Riemann said, “To invite veterans and their guests to come and enjoy this with us, it’s just a great experience.”

From 1941 to 1945, over 16 million men and women served in the armed forces during World War II. Four of those brave souls took the museum trip, bringing back both good and bad memories. WWII Navy Air Force veteran Wesley McFarland said, “It reminded me of so many things. I cried real tears because I felt so sad.”

WWII U.S Coast Guard veteran Barbara Chachitz said, “I’ll say I enjoyed it, but I certainly shed a lot of tears.”

There were over 416,000 American military deaths during World War II. The veterans thought about their band of brothers as they walked through the museum. “All I did was cry,” said Chachitz. “I could picture certain people that didn’t come back.”

WWII veteran Clifford Satterlee was on Tinian Island when the atomic bomb dropped. He told News 25 he was there when war correspondent Ernie Pyle was killed covering the invasion of Okinawa. “It’s a sad thing to think that he went through the whole war in Europe and then ended up in Okinawa. Got killed out there at the last battle of the war.”

After sharing their stories, the veterans loved how the museum opens the door for people of all ages to learn and appreciate history. “It’s the children that need to see this. Then they won’t be so uppity and they will think twice,” said Chachitz.

“It’s very impressive. It really brings home the fact of what we had to go through,” said Satterlee.