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Fifteen local veterans were toe-to-toe with their past a few weeks ago in this nation's capital.

Most were just babies decades ago when they answered the call to serve and defend. All of them wanted this chance to stand silent at the monuments honoring their fallen comrades and to let the memories wash over them again.

John Cannon, who is wheelchair-bound, didn't physically stand in his brothers' honor, but he did spend this trip being transported back to Korea in 1951. As a member of the Army infantry, he was placed in the danger zone.

Cannon received a Purple Heart and Bronze Star for his selfless service and sacrifice. He said being able to visit Washington, D.C. in October and lay eyes on the Korean War Memorial and D-Day Memorial was an event he will always treasure. He made the journey with his wife Shirley.

Traveling back

Charles Carringer was on that bus to D.C., too, with his wife Joyce. He served in the Navy from 1951-1955 and volunteered as an innocent 19-year-old. This trip was given to him for his birthday, by his children.

When asked how it felt being face-to-face with a monument honoring the brave warriors from his past, he hesitated and then replied, "It gave me quivers."

Then there is Charles Cochran, a member of the Air Force who served during the Korean War and who also lent 18 years to the Tennessee State Guard. He volunteered back in 1951 and spent a mere five weeks in basic training before heading to Korea. He was on aircraft maintenance, caring for the F-86, which was used for the first time in this war. His wife Mary made this important journey by his side.

Paul Hawkins, himself a veteran of the Korean War, put this trip together, believing these fellow servicemen had earned the right to see the striking tributes to their heroic past. Announcements of the impending trip were posted in the newspaper, and several of these men, many who had previously never met, signed on. At first, the bus trip had been open to veterans of the Korean War, but Hawkins decided to give all veterans the opportunity some had never taken. Each of the couples paid their own way.

Not all were initially anxious to meet up with their past. Vernon Stephens said he had never been able to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial because he had really tried over the years to erase that part of his memory. He decided it was time to make peace with the inner turmoil.

He located a friend's name among the 58,209 on the Wall, Monty Payne, and made a photograph. He said the experience of seeing those endless rows of names etched in black granite was something he had needed to do. His wife Marty was by his side.

"Going with this group of ladies and gentleman helped," he said. "Being with other veterans made a difference."