GEORGETOWN, Maine — Jon Hentz was born in Georgetown and lives there now, but he’s seen the world.
He began a 21-year naval career in 1960, stationed in Bermuda. After three years of shore duty, he fell in love.
"When the submarines came into the harbor, that’s all it took," he recalled, sitting in his living room on a November morning.
He proudly served on three different subs, reaching the rank of master chief. But his defining moment came off the coast of Guam in 1972.
"My submarine rescued four B-52 crewmen that had crashed in the heart of a typhoon," Jon said. "Nobody got hurt, really. Nobody got killed. We were very lucky to make the rescue."
Jon added that while nobody was killed among the crewmen his sub discovered, the commanding officer aboard the B-52 was never found until his body eventually washed ashore.
Jon's grandson Tyler interjected.
"He’s also being extremely humble about the rescue mission of the B-52," Tyler said. "He swam out with a rope attached to him in a typhoon to get to the survivors, from the top of the submarine. Wild; they’re here because of him."
Jon Hentz was a hero that day. He would never say that, but his country did when he received the Navy medal for heroism. A handful of years ago, he saw our Honor Flight coverage and wanted to make the trip to Washington to spend time with other vets.
Tyler served in the Marines and, in September, happily accompanied his grandfather as his guardian.
"I’d been to D.C. before; I was stationed 30 minutes south of it," Tyler said. "But actually seeing my grandfather and all of his colleagues seeing all of these monuments that specifically apply to the service that they went through was wild."
"To see the camaraderie bringing the services together and just talking with the people that had been in the same shoes that I wore, it was nothing but absolute fun," Jon recalled.
Knowing Jon’s history of service, maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that now he just wants to help others have this experience.
"I am hooked," Jon smiled. "I want to go back and help out with the flight, go on the flight. But the cutoff date is 75 years and, chances are, I won’t be able to do it. So I just help out at the airport as a volunteer."
Accomplishing the mission, whatever it takes.