"Honor Flight" for WWII vets

[dspeters5]

This past Tuesday, my dad partook in an "Honor Flight". This is a volunteer organizations celebration of WWII war vets. They get a plane from Southwest, fill it with 90 vets and an escort for each vet. Fly to
Washington D.C., get bussed to the WWII memorial, Korea memorial, get three meals. They fly home the same evening. Now when they return, in this case Midway Airport in Chicago. They are given a heroes reception. Their plane goes thru a water cannon salute from the Fire Dept. An honor guard and bagpipe brigade greet them as they come off the plane, a detachment from the Chicago Fire Deptartment honor guard. A motorcycle club, full of Vietnam vets park their bikes in a line, that the vets walk thru. Now when they enter the terminal, they are escorted by the honor guard and bagpipes and into baggage where 1,000 people are screaming, hollering, cheering for them. It was UNBELIEVALBE. People are lined up in two long rows that the vets walk thru. Everyone is shaking their hands and thanking them for serving our COUNTRY. The U.S.Navy band is playing God Bless America.

When my dad saw our family, he was astonished, the vets were not told about the reception they would receive. Many brokedown in tears. I am crying right now typing this stuff. It is supposed to be the experience they did not receive in 45 or 46 when they came home.

[dspeters5]

www.honorflight.org is website. Many volunteer organizations around the country. Everyone is totally volunteer. The Chicago group sends a plane full of 90 WWII vets and a guardian for each one every three weeks. The guardian must pay fullboat which is $4-500, they fly southwest out of Midway Airport. Vets get three meals, buses, wheelchairs. They visit WWII memorial and one or two others, time permitting. When they return they receive a heroes welcome. Honor guard, bagpipes, thousands of cheering relatives and friends.

We were asked to write letters so that the vets would get mail on the airplane. Mail call was very important to the vets during the war. All of my brothers, sisters, relatives wrote letters. My cousin who is a head coach at Air Force Academy wrote a letter of commendation for my dad.

[Muadib1950]

Let's bump this up for others to see who might not have earlier ... a fantastic concept ... wish my Dad were still around ... served in the Corps of Engineers under MacArthur ... Kinda cool they keep the surprise for the end of that return flight ...