100-year-old veteran lays wreath at World War II memorial
Billie Engel served as an instructor, teaching servicemen about the B-25 bomber.
WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - World War II veteran Billy Engel had a rockstar moment during a very special trip to the American capital.
“It feels great,” said Engel. “It shakes me up a bit.” Engel, who turns 101 next month, marked her time during the war by laying a patriotic wreath at the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
It was near the fountain with the words inscribed, “here we mark the price of freedom.”
“I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that this could happen to me,” said Engel. “The attention. The pictures.”
Engel lives in Cincinnati. At the age of 22, she worked as an instructor during the war, teaching servicemen the hydraulic system of the B-25 bomber.
“I had been a first grade teacher before that and I decided I wanted to do something else, and they were looking for people who knew how to teach and they would teach you what to teach,” said Engel.
Engel says her time during World War II is one she’s proud of, and her experience at the World War II Memorial is one she will always cherish.
Engel, along with 87 other veterans from Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky, visited the Lincoln, Korean, and Vietnam War memorials and Arlington National Cemetery during their visit.
This is the fourth and final honor flight for the tri-state area for this year before flights start again next year in April.
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