After a short ceremony in the airport terminal, an American Airlines chartered flight took the veterans and their guardians to Washington, D.C. for an unforgettable day of honor, tributes, visits to memorials and untold numbers of people greeting them, thanking them and wishing them well.
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Before boarding the flight at 6 a.m., veterans will enjoy entertainment and the national anthem performed by Vintage Mix, an a cappella group of teen quadruplets from Waukesha. “This was fantastic”, said Alicia Guzman, Fresno. “Being here brings back a lot of emotions”. Korean War veteran Margarito said he was shocked by the outpouring of support from the community. “It’s an honor for me”.
“It’s important for younger generations to have people reporting and teaching them about what happened”, Gary Johnson said.
“The kids are just excited to talk to them and it’s like hey what’s going on and it puts a face to it it’s not like it’s in the books there’s a face to face contact with them and it kind of gives them a deeper understanding what they did for their country”. “We need to make an effort to understand”.
Sullivan said White came to her years ago for permission to use the Sullivan family name for the local organizations’ original name, Sullivan-Hartogh-Davis Post 730 Honor Flight.
“My generation understood what it meant”, said Summers, one of two female veterans on the trip. “Alot of people shunned us, which wasn’t right. Now, when veterans are returning home, they don’t get that same recognition”.
“We want to bump them to the top of the (waiting) list”, Van Kirk said.
A chartered plane carrying some of the Central Valley’s most valued heroes landed Wednesday night at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
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The procession is open to the public.
