JAY — World War II veteran Richard “Dick” Hoisington looked up the names of more than 25 of his shipmates killed aboard the U.S. Coast Guard’s USS Callaway, when a Japanese suicide bomber crashed into it off the Coast of Luzon in the Philippine Islands in January 1945.

Hoisington, 91, formerly of Livermore Falls, went with Honor Flight Maine on Aug. 25 to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial and other war memorials. He returned home Aug. 27.

“It was a great trip,” he said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to go with the program being offered to them.”

He recommends that if veterans have the opportunity, they should go with Honor Flight Maine, part of the Honor Flight Network, to visit the memorials. World War II veterans go free of charge.

Hoisington, a Coast Guard veteran, was a signalman on the USS Callaway and was about 15 feet away from where the bomber struck.

“It was very devastating,” Hoisington said. “They were on fire and burned so bad that when they tried to take their clothing that was on fire off, the skin came right off of their fingers down to the bone.”

His shipmates were killed by the heat and flames of the fireball that occurred when the plane hit the ship, he said.

“I was very fortunate to escape the heat,” he said.

He was behind a metal bulwark, a small defense wall, on the flying bridge that protected him.

During wartime, the U.S. Coast Guard operates under the U.S. Navy, he said.

The Callaway, an attack transport ship, landed troops in different areas in seven invasions.

Hoisington also witnessed the raising of the U.S. flag on Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima from aboard the ship.

About 55 people, veterans and guardians, participated in the trip to the nation’s capital. The guardians look after the veterans.

“It was such a great experience to actually see the memorial and to see how it honored the veterans, not only World War II, but Korea and Vietnam,” Hoisington said.

There was a facility at the World War II Memorial where he looked up his shipmates who were killed.

It was a well-organized trip. “Everything went perfect,” he said.

All of the veterans used wheelchairs to get around with guardians pushing them. When they went through the airports, people were lined up to greet them, including the Freeport Flag Ladies in Portland.

Honor Flights have been going on in other states for a while, Hoisington said.

There was a mail call just like when he was in the service, he said, at which each veteran was handed a large envelope. Inside it were letters from people around the country thanking them for their service.

In his envelope was a card from a child who had written God bless America. It was decorated with all types of red, white and blue enhancements, including a stamp. Inside, the child wrote, “Thank you for your service.”

More information on the nonprofit organization can be found at www.honorflightmaine.org.

The Honor Flight Network was co-founded by Earl Morse of Vinalhaven, a retired Air Force captain and private pilot, in 2005 when he was working at a VA clinic in Ohio.

[email protected]