Everett Dyer was stationed in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines during the years he spent serving in the Army's 41st Infantry in World War II between 1941–45.

"It was very difficult campaigning in the jungles with the constant heat and a very vicious enemy, but we were able to endure," he said. "It was worth it all. I was lucky to be one of the survivors."

Honor Flight Austin—a nonprofit that transports veterans to the WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.—sent 60 veterans on a trip April 11–12.

Five of those residents, including Dyer, came from the Atria at the Arboretum, a senior living facility on Great Hills Trail.

Atria's Engage Life Director Danielle Loving said Honor Flight sent out a volunteer to talk to Atria's veterans about visiting the memorial. Loving said veterans must have served in WWII or were injured in the line of duty to qualify for the trip. The Atria also had an official send-off for the veterans the morning of April 11.

"We thought it was important that they have something special to send them off because this is going to be profound for them," she said. "That's the least we can do for all their time of service."

Dyer said he has visited two war memorials in Washington, D.C., before, including the WWII Memorial when it first opened to the public in April 2004.

"I took my family, and we all saw the WWII Memorial," the 96-year-old veteran said. "It was very overwhelming."

He said he appreciates that Honor Flight offers veterans the chance to see the memorial.

The other veterans from Atria were:

• Lester Swanson, 87: He served in the Navy and was on his way to the Philippines in 1945 when the war ended. He served on the USS PC-1147 patrol craft for nine months. He was later recalled for active duty in July 1950 for the Korean War.
• Jack Wright, 91: He served in the Navy from 1941–46 as a gunnery officer on an aircraft carrier. His crew later delivered that carrier to the Soviet Union.
• Leonard Gerhardt, 90: He served in the Marines from 1943–45 as a merchant Marine on a gasoline tanker and transported oil to the U.S. bases in the South Pacific islands.
• Ivan Toler, 90: He served as a second air Commander from 1940–46 in the Army Air Corps. He was stationed in Burma, India and Okinawa, Japan.