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Janesville veteran visits nation's capital on Honor Flight

Janesville Gazette - 5/15/2017

May 15--A U.S. Navy veteran and former General Motors employee from Janesville flew to Washington, D.C., over the weekend as part of the Honor Flight program.

Del Halfmann, who served in the Navy from 1946 to 1948, went to the nation's capital on an Honor Flight, which aims to give veterans from World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War, as well as veterans who are terminally ill, the opportunity to see the memorials that have been erected in their honor, Del's son Ken said in an email.

Born in Jericho, Del joined the Navy in 1946 at age 17. After he was discharged in 1948, he went to work in movie theaters and was transferred to Janesville to manage the Myers Theater, Ken said.

He then met Joan Healy, who worked in the box office at another theater, and married her in 1949. The couple have eight children.

Del joined nearly 90 veterans on a flight that took off from the Dane County Regional Airport on Saturday morning. Their plane landed in Washington, D.C., and the veterans were greeted by a water cannon salute from a firetruck, Ken said.

The Halfmanns toured several memorials, including the WWII memorial, where a group of students from Pennsylvania stopped Del to thank him for his service, Ken said.

When they returned Sunday, Ken said the veterans were welcomed at the airport "by a crowd of well-wishers that literally filled the main level of the terminal."

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(c)2017 The Janesville Gazette (Janesville, Wis.)

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