WWII veteran Frank Manchel, of San Diego, died May 5 at the age of 95 while traveling home from an ‘Honor Flight’ trip to Washington D.C.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Manchel collapsed about an hour before the American Airlines jet was supposed to land.
“Frank Manchel was so excited to go on Honor Flight. To be with both of his sons as well as his 93-year-old brother who met him in Washington, D.C. was so special,” Frank’s son, Bruce Manchel, wrote on Facebook May 6. “My father’s passing was the ending to the most amazing weekend, surrounded by his newest best friends… Frank passed quickly and peacefully and the compassion and respect that that was shown to our family will be treasured always. May he rest in peace as he is now with his other beloved son Jimmy.”
Honor Flight San Diego is an all-volunteer non-profit created to honor American veterans by transporting them to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials at no cost to the veterans.
After the passing, American Airlines offered to transport Manchel and his family to Michigan- where Manchel grew up- where funeral and burial arrangements have been made.
“He went into the service as the signal corps and was a decoder in Europe decoding German code in WWII,” Frank’s niece CarolAnn Barr-Gutkowski told the Journal. “He was even in attendance in the Nuremberg trials. He really witnessed history first hand.”
She added that this past weekend “was both a blessing and a curse.” Her brother David and her father Jerome attended the D.C. trip with Frank along with his sons Howard and Bruce.
“He got to go on this honor flight and be honored with my dad who was also a veteran,” she said. “So the Manchel boys got to spend the weekend together and have a great time.”
Though the family is still grieving, Barr-Gutkowski said she’s happy her father and uncle were able to spend time together in their nation’s capital.
“I suppose just like in times of war not all of our heroes got to come home. It’s not surprising that someone who is nearly 96 (he would have been 96 in June) passed away, but if you look at all the ways life ends, this one is a good way to go. We are still grieving and he will be missed but it’s a special way to leave this world. It’s really nice that these honor flights exist to make sure that this many years later they get to feel honored and respected.”
