Two University of Arizona student veterans accompanied World War II and Korean War veterans on a trip this month to Washington, D.C., for a visit to memorials built in honor of military service.
Sean Rambaran and Tim Ashcraft, both of the Army, were selected to go on the Honor Flight trip Oct. 17-19. Honor Flight Southern Arizona sponsored the flight and funded the military veterans’ visit, while the Bert W. Martin Foundation gave the UA’s Veterans Education and Transition Services a grant to support Ashcraft and Rambaran.
“The idea is to connect this new generation of military and veteran UA students with veterans who served before them,” said Cody Nicholls, the UA’s assistant dean for veterans education and transition services. “For our UA students who have served and continue to serve, the opportunity to aid veterans from previous wars and conflicts as guardians on an Honor Flight to D.C. is a tremendous opportunity for engagement.”
First organized in 2005, Honor Flight is a national network with about 130 hubs across the U.S. Honor Flight hubs are nonprofit organizations whose mission is to provide a trip of honor for veterans at no cost to them.
“Service above self is ingrained in those of us who serve and have served in the military,” said Nicholls, a veteran.
“While I have never served as a guardian myself, I have heard countless times, from those who have served as guardians, that serving as a guardian for our veterans is truly a remarkable experience,” Nicholls said.
Rambaran, whose father served in the Air Force for more than two decades, enlisted in the Army in 2010. During more than three years of active-duty service, Rambaran was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany, and was a member of a military intelligence unit. After returning to Arizona, he joined the Arizona Army National Guard and pursued his studies at the UA. He will graduate in December with a degree in political science.
“I felt a desire to serve my country and follow in the footsteps of not only my father, but my grandfather, uncle and cousin,” said Rambaran, a Tucson native who said he was immersed in military culture from a young age.
Rambaran said participating in the Honor Flight was a way for him to show gratitude for older generations of veterans.
“Many of these veterans never received any recognition after their wartime service,” he said.
Ashcraft twice was deployed to Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom, serving as a platoon leader during his first tour in 2010 and as a company commander in 2013.
Also a Tucson native, Ashcraft completed his bachelor’s degree in engineering through the U.S. Military Academy in 2007. At the UA, he is a master’s student in aerospace engineering through the Army’s Advanced Civil Schooling Program. After graduating from the UA, he will serve his three-year assignment as a West Point instructor in civil and mechanical engineering.
Ashcraft said he takes pride in his military service and in the contributions of his late grandfather, Clarence “Stub” Ashcraft Jr., who played football for the UA and received his commission in the Army from the University in 1941. After serving in World War II, Ashcraft Jr. returned to the UA and spent decades working for the University in different capacities.
“He taught our entire family to love this country and, of course, the Wildcats,” Ashcraft said. “Needless to say, my roots run deep at the University of Arizona and in the Army.”
Before his grandfather died in 2008, members of the family attended the dedication of the National World War II Memorial.
“The World War II Memorial has special meaning to me for my granddad’s service and because we were there together for the dedication,” Ashcraft said.
“It was surreal to be surrounded by men and women who served so honorably and loved their country so dearly, and yet had to wait nearly 60 years to see the memorial erected in their honor,” he said. “It was a humbling moment, knowing I would follow in the footsteps of those distinguished veterans who paved the way for future generations.”
Ashcraft said serving as a guardian on the Honor Flight was “the least I could do to pay my respects to my grandfather” and other World War II veterans.