Josephine Bogdanich, Manteno Veterans Home resident, participates in First All-Female Honor Flight

Manteno, IL -- Josephine Bogdanich, Women Army Corps, US Army Corps, resident of the Manteno Veterans' Home since 2017, will board her second honor flight and the first all-female honor flight, Operation HerStory, October 6, 2021.

Operation HerStory is a partnership between many organizations including Honor Flight Chicago, Daughters of the American Revolution, and Illinois Joining Forces to provide this special opportunity to the more than 7,000 senior women veterans in Illinois. This one-day, all-expense paid trip originates in Chicago and arrives in Washington, D.C. for visits to historic sites including the Women's Memorial in Arlington Cemetery and the Vietnam Women's Memorial on the National Mall, memorials built in their honor.  Bogdanich, 104, is the oldest veteran joining the Honor Flight.

"Women veterans have shaped our nation through their sacrifices and their service," said Acting Director Terry Prince. "Operation HerStory honors their commitment and offers them this special occasion to join together to celebrate their shared service. Josephine courageously answered the call to serve. We are honored she is part of our Manteno family."

Bogdanich enlisted, along with her sister, in 1944 and was assigned to Selfridge Air National Base in Mt. Clemens, Michigan. After a short time, she was sent to Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, and later to Langley Air Force Base, Virginia. At Langley, she received teletype training and served in the Mail Department where she handled mail and packages that were sent to servicemen. At times, she and fellow WACs from the Mail Department wrote notes to soldiers who did not receive any mail, hoping that a note would lift their spirits and let a soldier know that someone was thinking of them.

Bogdanich was discharged from the service in Santa Monica, California, in 1946 and returned to her job at Illinois Bell Telephone, before being hired to do office work for the Indiana Railroad Company near the stockyards. Bogdanich and her husband Andrew have one son Nicholas. They lived on Chicago's southside before she moved to the Manteno Veterans home.

For more on Bogdanich: https://secure-web.cisco.com/1FV470vKN5qlKFHY4QW7OyqlcZSMikRAF6YpzLmtnw8vBVtJ3kC2dNJnN4pr3Sou9EjpUEkKsiXC2b4MzbBPxKa4VuhTvczkXxkZVp4Eoph3dbntd0SBvUWsKSVkkMTcU3HQSTnfoQfLtOmaMjefqt3mZeNdbKW0R0AO9LCmCj4OW1kWgkOMG4oebXaGBdTb5A8Go2MZBieLz5Ze-exJeywYozddbuX4YpnUOPpRDExIA2Gz0Qm7ObICnO4t2vXeGIT0549XeVJJjfL9o0xchsZar2TmBazHOvbiwRn3C6SDpkenTPP-xI2Ax04lxNQb63SzNyC9TQvG9Idk5B5qWnVmh-urgmXxjnZHY-n7Vn-AcNYQXKMOdbm0th-LzBFHLG01kxomahNAeL4ro4fFPCVSGWY04mUrfsaxiuWNez2w/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pritzkermilitary.org%2Fwhats_on%2Fholt-oral-history-program%2Fjosephine-bogdanich