Nephi man helping WWII vets visit memorial

A Nephi man has a good reason for raising $175,000 so he can send 120 World War II veterans to the nation's capital for Veterans Day this weekend.

When Paul McSweeney's father Raymond died in 1997 at the age of 75, he took with him untold stories about his experience in New Guinea as an infantryman in the Australian Army during World War II. McSweeney said his father told him one or two stories, but like most veterans, he chose to keep painful memories to himself.

The Utah veterans making this trip, however, have agreed to share their war stories, which McSweeney plans to compile into a DVD. His hope is that their stories won't end up like his father's.

"He died and took that all to his grave," said McSweeney. "That is part of my motivation."

A group that includes veterans, some of their family members and a medical team will board a commercial "Hero Flight" bound for Washington on Friday, but not before a big send-off that will include Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and Sen. Orrin Hatch.

"I just have so much admiration for them," said Hatch, who lost his brother Jesse in the war. "I feel so deeply about what they've gone through."

With increased public focus in recent years on their contributions during World War II, veterans have started to share some of their experiences.

"They're starting to open up about it now," McSweeney said. "For some of them, it's a real healing thing — and others can't handle it."

World War II veterans, many now in their 80s, are dying at a rate of about 1,000 a day, and in 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated about 3.9 million World War II veterans were still living.

McSweeney, 49, who moved to Utah from Australia 15 years ago, said he wants to continue raising money so that as many World War II veterans from Utah as possible over the next few years will have the chance to see the World War II monument in Washington. Currently, there is a waiting list for the next trip.

Many vets, he added, can't make the trip on their own because of health and financial reasons. In fact, about 30 who originally registered with McSweeney for the trip had to drop out, mostly due to ill health, he said.

McSweeney, an entrepreneur who runs the nonprofit Unsung Heroes in Utah, said he was able to raise funds for the three-day trip from a variety of sources. As of this week, he still had about $11,000 to go toward his goal of $175,000 for this trip.

Similar nonprofits in Ohio, where McSweeney got his idea, and in North Carolina also raise money to send World War II veterans on the same kinds of trips.

This weekend, Utah veterans will be treated to a banquet and visits to the World War II monument, Arlington National Cemetery and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

"They are so overwhelmed that they are going to get out there," McSweeney said. "It's a dream come true for them."

People wishing to donate money for this weekend's trip or future trips are asked to call McSweeney at 801-427-1397.

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E-mail: sspeckman@desnews.com