Jerry Strack, far right, watches as Becky McCasland take a photo with her father, Ed, at the McCasland residence in Lake Placid Friday before leaving for Plattsburgh to be part of a North Country Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)
LAKE PLACID — The deck was buzzing with friends, neighbors and about a dozen forest rangers as Ed McCasland, 85, waited to be picked up by a motorcade that would escort him to Plattsburgh.
McCasland was selected as one of 30 veterans across the North Country who will take two planes for a one-day trip to Washington D.C. for a monument tour.
This trip is run by North Country Honor Flight. On Friday afternoon, each veteran and an accompanying guardian was escorted to Plattsburgh from around the region in New York and Vermont.
Early this morning, they will be sent on their way with a parade and appearance by “Thunder in the Burgh,” a Plattsburgh motorcycle group, as they make their way to Plattsburgh International Airport. After a tour of Washington monuments, they will return around 8:15 p.m. at the Plattsburgh Barracks Veterans Park on the US Oval.
McCasland is native to Lake Placid, having graduated from high school there in 1958. The next year, he got married and joined the Air Force. He was stationed at Turner Air Force Base in Albany, Georgia. After four years in the Air Force, he served two more years in the active reserves. Then he returned to Lake Placid, working for the Lake Placid Municipal Electric department for 30 years and then dabbling in some work at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Ed McCasland and his driver for the day, Trooper James Dambro, wait for the Honor Flight motorcade to leave at McCasland’s residence on Friday. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)
Military service runs in the McCasland family. Ed’s father, Norman McCasland Sr., served in World War I. Both Ed’s brothers, James and Norman Jr., served in Korea. And his daughter, Becky, served in the Air Force. She is accompanying her father on this trip and said it’s a special opportunity.
“I’m looking forward to my dad’s interaction with the other vets, swapping stories and that kind of thing,” Becky said.
As the party waited for the departure time, Ed flitted across the deck, laughing and telling everyone about the details of the trip. Becky said her dad’s nickname is “steady Eddie.”
“He’s very dependable. He’s the guy you turn to when you need some help doing something,” Becky said.
McCasland’s wife, Kay, is originally from Saranac Lake — they’re an Adirondack family through and through. The couple has been married for 66 years. She said Ed didn’t think he deserved to go since he didn’t go into combat, but she is “very, very excited” for him.
A motorcade of state troopers, forest rangers and motorcyclists escort Air Force veteran Ed McCasland past the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department on Friday. (Enterprise photo — Grace McIntyre)
“He gave four years of service to his country, which he loved,” Kay said.
The North Country Honor Flight has flown 840 veterans to Washington since 2013. There are two more flights this year, which will both be on Oct. 5. Barrie Finnegan, executive director of North Country Honor Flight, said they accept applications on a rolling basis. There are currently 150 veterans on the wait list, Finnegan said. Their first priority when considering applicants is age, since they want to give older veterans a chance to take the trip.
North Country Honor Flight is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations to send veterans to the capital. It is part of the Honor Flight Network, a national organization. To find out more, fill out an application, or donate, visit northcountryhonorflight.org. Donations can also be mailed to North Country Honor Flight, P.O. Box 2644, Plattsburgh, NY 12901.
After a long line of forest rangers and motorcycles peeled away from the McCaslands’ street, they passed through the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department station beneath a flag raised in Ed’s honor.
When he was asked how he felt to be recognized in this way, Ed was quick to acknowledge other veterans.
“I think it’s great,” Ed said. “A lot of young guys that are coming back from all over, overseas, lot of them deserve it just as much, more than I do.”