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Veteran dies just days after Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.
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BATON ROUGE — A Baton Rouge veteran who served in the U.S. Air Force was laid to rest on Friday following his Honor Flight to Washington earlier this month.
86-year-old Milburn Guntz was 19 years old when he signed up for the U.S. Air Force, serving between the Korean and Vietnam Wars from 1958 to 1964. He had the solemn duty of recovering the remains of fallen servicemen.
"This trip was always on his radar," his daughter Maya Guntz said. "He was like 'I'm going on this trip. I got something I got to do, we're going on this trip.'"
On April 11th, Milburn and his daughter Maya joined more than 70 other Louisiana veterans at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport on a trip to Washington, D.C. with Honor Flight Louisiana. The organization covers the cost of the trip to allow veterans to visit memorials and war monuments, giving priority to veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and who are terminally ill.
Milburn Guntz knew this was his final mission at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
"To him, they were not unknown soldiers. These were people that he saw. That he brought back, and even if they could not identify them, he knew who they were to him. So it was really important for him to be able to honor them because he hated that name, the unknown soldier. He said they are not unknown. We know them. They mean something to us."
On April 15, just four days after his defining trip, Milburn Guntz died. The 86-year-old was buried at the Louisiana National Cemetery in Zachary on Friday.
"There is a peace that you get when someone closes their eyes and takes their last breath. When you know that they were shown the love and appreciation while they were still here on this earth."
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