Honor Flight Post #3 - Afternoon and Evening

Saturday afternoon, the Honor Flight tour bus transported the vets to Arlington and the Iwo Jima Memorial. There was time here to take photos and soak in this familiar monument. Dad is the sixth guy standing counting from the left side. He has on a black hat. (The photographer missed the right side of the group. Good thing Dad was on the left.)

After the Iwo Jima Memorial, the group travelled back down to the Korean, Lincoln, and Vietnam Memorials and spent a couple of hours taking tours and looking around. Bob Dole showed up to shake a few hands while they were there.

Around 5 p.m., the group took the bus to an Old Country Buffet restaurant for a great dinner together. Then they went back to the airport to board their flight home at 8:50 p.m.

When the Honor Flight left BWI, the fire trucks lined the runway and gave them a water cannon salute. This great honor is usually reserved for pilots making their final flight; and it was a great honor to be recognized in this way. And so they winged their way home with a great feeling! But it wasn't over yet!

Upon arrival at the Dayton airport, the rest of the passengers deplaned first and the flag and honor guard were presented in the corridor of the airport for a final time. About 100 or more people lined the flag-lined corridor to welcome the veterans home for the last time that day. Decorated military soldiers saluted as the veterans walked by. Civilians waved and clapped and shook their hands for a final show of appreciation. There was a reception and farewell before the Honor Flight veterans made their way home.

What a great day! Thank you, Honor Flight; and thanks to all the people who made this day possible for my Dad and the other deserving veterans who fought in World War II . . . and all the wars . . . for our freedom.

Dad also got a certificate from Honor Flight and has been invited to a reception at the Air Force Museum in the near future. In the past, he has done a video documentary of sorts with a group of students at Stivers High School; and he was invited to visit with the students and share some of his war experiences as a result of that project. With all this notoriety, who knows where he might show up next. He might be like Kilroy . . . he's everywhere.

Most of all, everyone in the family including me is really proud of Dad for defending our freedom and for being willing to come back home and work really hard to make the lives we have today possible. This Honor Flight is only a drop in the bucket of what he deserves.

We love you, Dad!