Nice story, I understand they have a program of trying to send WW2 vets to see their memorial before they die. It still amazes me that Korea and Vietnam vets had their memorials before WW2 vets did! Even though I was in Thailand, not Vietnam, I've always regretted never seeing the Vietnam memorial either in DC or when the travel Vietnam memorial passed through Reno, awhile back-still time i guess!
Smoke
Smoke,
My lifelong hometown of Raleigh, NC was the departure point for something like 8 or 10 Honor Flights over the last 24 months. The Honor Flights grouped WWII veterans with escorts on a 2 to 1 basis, with the vet' flights free and the escorts paying their own flat ticket fee (and with a lengthy waiting list for the honor of paying their own way to escort a pair of veterans). They'd leave RDU airport early in the morning, fly the hour to National Airport, and bus over to the Memorial and a second or third DC area attraction, where they were greeted and treated with the utmost respect and welcome. Probably the most heartwarming aspect of the Honor Flights were the returns to RDU, normally around 7-8pm, after a 12 hour day. The local news coverage of the first Honor Flight caused a spontaneous crowd of a couple hundred individuals to gather to welcome them back home. The subsequent flights included a widely broadcast invitation for the general public to come to the airport, park for free, bring flags and banners, a band, and just every form of warm welcome you could imagine. The welcome home crowds had grown to 2,500-3,500 by the last flight, just last month. There we'd be, guys in their 50s like me, my sons in their 20s, younger kids, and every age in between, greeting these 80-90 year-old vets, and not a dry eye in the whole crowd. I don't give Tom Brokaw and the mainstream media credit for much, but Brokaw got it right with the WWII vets: They are truly the Greatest Generation.
Foy