“Help Them Heal”: An Old Guard Veteran And Paramedic Gives Back Through The Honor Flight

Alex Davenport grew up in Los Angeles, California. His father was a firefighter. Alex joined the Army in 1996 as a way of leaving LA fast. He spent four-and-a-half years in the Army, serving on an eight-man casket team in the Old Guard at Arlington Cemetery. He remembers serving in the funerals for Duke Ellington’s son and for the designer of the eternal flame at President Kennedy’s grave. After leaving the Army, he became a firefighter in Florida, following in his father’s footsteps. By 2010, he was a paramedic and served as a Lieutenant, running his own fire station. He seized the opportunity to be on the medical team for an Honor Flight, which began with 4 paramedics and later increased to 8 paramedics assisting older Veterans. He enjoys participating in Honor Flights because he sees it as a way to assist older Veterans and “help them heal.” He likes taking Vietnam veterans to “the Wall.” He remembers one honor flight where a veteran was determined to visit his parents in Arlington Cemetery, even though it was not a scheduled stop. Alex volunteered to go with him, and he recalls the veteran increasing his pace to a run the closer he got to his parents’ grave. He describes the moving scene as the veteran knelt at their grave and talked to them. He often attends funerals for veterans he met on an Honor Flight. At the end of the interview, he reflects on what his service to the nation and his community means to him.