LANSING | Sixty-seven years ago, Don "Bill" Zentz boarded the USS LST-627 in Seneca, Ill., and sailed down the Mississippi River and to the Pacific to fight in World War II.

Last week, the Navy vet boarded a plane for a whirlwind tour of Washington, D.C. He visited monuments dedicated to military veterans.

Zentz, 84, was one of 93 veterans on Honor Flight Chicago's sixth flight from Chicago this year. The organization offers the flights, which cost about $500 per veteran, at no charge thanks to donations.

Zentz was 17 and fresh out of Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City when he enlisted in the Navy on July 6, 1943. He was born in Oak Glen, which is now the west end of Lansing, and didn't know much about the world outside that town.

His introduction to the world came through the invasions of China, the Philippines and Japan.

He returned home in 1946 as a petty officer 2nd class and gunner's mate and went to work as a carpenter and part-time police officer. He also served as president of the Lansing Kiwanis Club and director of the Lansing Sportsman Club. He spent the last several years at Gibson Chevrolet in South Holland.

Zentz's Honor Flight group was entertained on the day of the trip July 14 as they waited by a set of Andrew Sisters lookalikes who sang WWII-era tunes.

"It was fantastic," he said of the flight.

He was impressed with the warm welcome he received in Washington and as the vets returned to Midway Airport.

"The people when we got there were all lined up. The crowd was greeting us, the color guard. It was just beautiful," he said.

Once in Washington, Zentz was paired with Oscar "Bill" Olson, of LaGrange Park, also a WWII veteran. The two were escorted by Navy veteran Steve Pearson, a volunteer with the Honor Flight Network, which also operates in several others cities.

"While traveling on the bus and touring the sites during the day, Bill, Don and I were constantly engaged in conversation about their military experiences in World War II, their lives after the war, families, and their impressions of what they were seeing and experiencing that day," Pearson said. "They, along with all the other vets on this trip, were very appreciative of, and humbled by, the well-deserved attention they were getting."

Zentz arrived home to a hero's welcome with applause and expressions of appreciation.

"I shook hands with everyone. Little ones, too," Zentz said. "Everyone was thanking you. It was touching. I'm glad I went, and I hope any vet who could go, would go."