100-year-old WWII veteran offers words of hope in Montgomery County on Memorial Day

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) — A centenarian and World War II veteran was honored Monday during a Memorial Day service.

Washington Memorial Chapel was packed to honor Air Force Lieutenant Jack Goodrich. Goodrich won the Chinese Medal of Honor for flying missions in 1945 in China as a "Hump Pilot." He conducted dangerous supply missions over "The Hump," better known as the Himalayan Mountains.

"During the three months in the summer, there were the most violent storms in the world," Goodrich said.

He reflected on his colleagues who never made it home. He spoke of a board, on which officers wrote the status of aircraft and crew after missions.

"The operations officer erased the number of the aircraft and the names of the crew because we're not going to see them again," he said.

Father Tommy Thompson also spoke of how many church members lost their lives fighting for our freedom.

"To know that these people paid the ultimate price and sacrificed so much in their lives for the sake of those that would one day live on this turf," he said.

Goodrich shared these words of comfort for families who are grieving:

"They're in good hands, wherever they are."