Honor Flight

Bill and I did something Saturday night which we should have done long ago. After dinner with some friends, we went to the Huntsville Airport to welcome the return of the Honor Flight. Don't know what that is? It is a nation wide program which flies World War II veterans to Washington, DC on a one day trip to visit the WW II Memorial. They also stop at Arlington National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Iwo Jima Memorial. Huntsville is one of the hubs in 30 states which offer the program. There is no charge to the veterans for the trip; it is funded entirely by donations.

This flight was the tenth flight from Huntsville with at least one more scheduled. It had 106 veterans on board, three of whom were ladies. The youngest was 82 years old. Oldest age? Unknown. The vets wear a black tee shirt and they are accompanied by a Guardian in a yellow shirt. Honor Flight charters the plane which flies into Reagan Airport in DC. They are met by additional Guardians and tour busses which move them around the City. The plane had a medical crew of an ER doctor and nurse plus 6 EMT's. They also carry about 50 wheel chairs. Since they meet at the airport at 4 AM and got back at 11 PM many of the vets were ready for the chairs. But many were not.

We are losing WW II vets at a rate of about 1,000 a day. Many pass while waiting for a chance to get on a flight. If their families wish it, a "burial flag" is flown to DC. It is photographed in front of the Memorial and then returned to the family with a certificate.

There were about 500 people there to welcome them home; including the current and a past Mayor of Huntsville. The Symphony provided a band and almost all of the greeters had a flag to wave. All this a few hours after a series of killer tornados raged through the area. American Idol's Bo Bice's grandfather was on the flight. Bo went to DC and sang the National Anthem at the Memorial.

Bill kept reminding me that if it were not for these heros, we would now be speaking either German or Japanese.

You can use the link below to see a slide show of the trip.

Judith

http://photos.al.com/4462/gallery/honor_flight_apr_24/slideshow/index.html