They were 17 and 18 years old, leaving behind their homes, schools, jobs and, sometimes, their sweethearts.

Some took destiny in their own hands and enlisted in the U.S. military service; others accepted what was assigned when they were drafted to serve in World War II.

“My brother had been drafted, but he didn’t like the choice they gave him, so he told me to join up before I was 18 so I could choose,” said Gene Woodall of LaGrange, who joined the Navy.

Woodall stayed stateside during the three years, two months, 12 days and four hours he served, eventually teaching at an aviation ordnance school in Texas, which included many survivors of the Pearl Harbor bombing and one famous Marine – actor Tyrone Power.

Woodall and 14 other Troup County veterans of World War II will be honored for a day as they travel to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial on Sept. 21.

The round-trip flight and all that it includes is free to veterans. Sponsored by West Georgia Honor Flight based in Columbus, the trip is the fifth and, most likely, the last flight for the 2-year-old organization.

Flights cost about $72,000 each and are funded through donations from businesses and individuals. In April, the first group of Troup County veterans joined a flight. The September flight will be the second time for local vets to participate.

Locally, organizers are trying to raise $5,000 to pay the expenses of local veterans, said Isabelle Knight.

“It costs about $400 per veteran to make this trip,” she said. “We’ve raised about $2,000, but still need to raise more for this.”

Honor Flight is a national organization that formed to assist World War II veterans to be able to view the war memorial dedicated to the “Greatest Generation.” The memorial was completed in 2004, as many veterans came to an age where they did not have the funds, knowledge or strength to complete a conventional trip to Washington.

About 200 veterans, volunteer guardians and Honor Flight board members will fly from Columbus to Baltimore, then take chartered buses into Washington to visit the World War II, Vietnam, Korean and Iwo Jima memorials and Arlington Cemetery before returning home that evening.

It will be a long day, but these veterans understand that often it takes a little sacrifice to get the job done.

In 1946, Claude Lott, who has lived in LaGrange for many years, found himself on a train headed to Seattle, with orders to continue on to Japan. When he arrived in Washington state, he was told the Army had enough men headed to Japan. He was disappointed.

“It would have been tough, but I could handle that for my country. I’d go anywhere in the world they sent me, if it was for my country,” he said.

-Local organizers of the West Georgia Honor Flight are raising $5,000 to contribute to the $72,000 cost for the fifth honor flight out of Columbus. The funds will provide free trips to Washington, D.C., for local veterans to see the World War II Memorial. To make a donation, call Isabelle Knight at (706) 333-3133.

Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.