Honor Flights

[NightMaher]

Gents, yesterday I had the great priviledge to participate in one of the greatest experiences in my life. I was part of a group of Honor Flight volunteers who took a group of South Florida WWII vets to Washington to see thier memorial. From the moment the day started (verrrry early!) to the end of the day when everything was finished, these guys were treated like absolute ROCK STARS!!!! There were police and motorcycle escorts to the airport, and the scene when we got to Washington National and back to Palm Beach International was very emotional to both the vets and the Guardians that accompanied each vet. At both airports, there were literally hundreds of people there, cheering these vets as they came off of the plane. In Washington, we went to the Tomb of the Unknowns to see the changing of the guard, to the Air Force Memorial, to the actual WWII Memorial on the Mall, and then to the Iwo Jima Memorial before we headed back home.
If you have a chance to donate time or money to this great orginization, I would encourage you to do so. You will not regret it!! There is a rush to get vets who would not otherwise get a chance to see "thier" memorial to Washington while there is still time, as the pool of WWII vets is dwindling daily.

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[Oh Mr. Wilson]

God Bless you Sir for help these Vets, I'm sure it was a very rewarding day for all.

Is it the Stars & Stripes Honor Flights as linked in my sig line?

[Prince Humperdink]

Eric,
that is Very Cool!

[cuppednlocked]

My good friend's father just came back from the same gig. This was the last flight from NC. His father was a POW captured early in the war after landing on Omaha.

[NightMaher]

Guy, yes that is a chapter of the same organization. As I understand it, there is a national organization, and they provide the "ground crews" that handle all the logistics in DC, from providing tour guides on each bus (ours was a retired army O-6), as well as the awesome welcoming ceremony. Then there are the different branch chapters, such as the one on your sig line, and Southeast Florida Honor Flight, which sets up everything up down here. Yesterday, there were four Honor Flight groups in DC, including mine. One HUGE one was the one you referred to, I think. I don't know how many vets they sent, but they required TWO 757's for all the vets and guardians! We sent 83, and I'm not sure about how many the other groups sent. The coolest part is that the whole thing is FREE to the vets; everything is paid for, from the airplane trip to food. The guardians pay their own way, and donations pay for the rest. The military also helps, providing volunteers for each bus (mixed officer and enlisted, we had two of each on board) to help with unloading buses, assisting vets on and off the buses, stuff like that. The whole thing is a one day trip, leaving South Florida in the morning, and back in the night. It made for a exhausting (I was up at 0130, and didn't get to bed until 2300 or so last evening) but very rewarding trip.

[toolman]

Great job!!!!!!!!

[smc51]

There is a DVD available for the honor flights.
It's called "None Less Than Heroes", The Honor Flight Story.
I just got my copy today