A 95-year-old World War II veteran spent his last day alive being honored for his service to the country.



This Saturday, May 4, 2019, photo from Honor Flight San Diego shows Frank Manchel. (Teri Simas/Honor Flight San Diego via AP)

Frank Manchel, an Army technical sergeant during the war, was on a flight back from an all-expense-paid visit to Washington put together by Honor Flight San Diego when he suddenly collapsed and died Sunday. Manchel was on the flight with his son, Dr. Bruce Manchel, who was accompanying his father on the visit.

His son and another doctor attempted to revive him by performing CPR, but Manchel didn’t recover. Chaplains on the flight, which was filled with 82 other veterans, prayed over his body before it was draped in an American flag. As the plane began to descend into San Diego, the plane burst into an emotionally charged rendition of “God Bless America.”

Manchel’s body was placed next to his son, and each veteran aboard the flight stopped to salute and pay respects to their fellow serviceman as they deplaned.

“Frank Manchel was so excited to go on his Honor Flight. This trip was so special because he was able to be with both of his sons as well as his 93-year-old brother who met him in Washington, D.C.,” Bruce Manchel said in a written statement. “My father’s passing was the ending to the most amazing weekend, surrounded by his newest best friends.”

Honor Flight San Diego Chairman Julie Brightwell said in a Monday statement: “It was our privilege to honor this true American hero during his final hours.”

There is a network of Honor Flights from cities and states around the country. The trips charter a flight and pay for veterans to fly to the nation’s capital to visit the memorials of the wars they fought in.

They are accompanied by “guardians,” family members and volunteers who assist taking care of the aging veterans on the trip. Throughout the excursion the veterans are repeatedly saluted and honored. Upon arriving and departing from airports, the groups often receive applause from onlookers and firetruck salutes while taxiing in the planes.

American Airlines has offered to fly Manchel’s remains and his family members to his home state of Michigan where funeral services are planned.