Midwest Honor Flight

Curt was selected to participate in Mission #27 of the Midwest Honor Flight to Washington DC on September 23rd. He was one of the 83 veterans who served during WWII, Korea, and Vietnam selected for the trip. Our son, Karl, was his guardian for the one LONG day adventure to see the memorials and monuments in our nation's capital. Curt had not been to Washington DC since the summer of 1977. Karl had not been there since June 1996. Each veteran was required to be accompanied by a guardian (not a spouse). 

There was a banquet the night before the flight and a Welcome Home ceremony when they arrived back in Sioux Falls. I will post some photos from those two events in another blog post.

Karl had specific duties once they landed in Washington DC. I requested he take photos so I (and you) would know what they saw. I was also interested in seeing the extra security that has been assigned to the city. So most of the photos in this post are from Karl. There are a few from the volunteer camera crew that accompanied the Honor Flight.

The flight left Sioux Falls at 4:30 AM.

The Guardians wore white shirts. The Veterans wore blue shirts.

US Air Force Memorial

270' high

The Honor Guard statues at the Air Force Memorial

Washington Monument and the Pentagon in the background

Arlington National Cemetery

 Honor Flight personnel wore orange shirts. 

Marine Memorial

geocaching at the US Navy Memorial

honoring the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, 

& Merchant Marine

authorized in 1980, completed in 1987

Washington Monument

along the Mall

National Guard personnel at the Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

16 million served in WWII

400,000 paid the ultimate price

Korean War Memorial

19 stainless steel figures standing 7' tall, representing 

Army, Marines, Navy, and Air Force

I had three uncles who served in the Korean War

Wall of Remembrance dedicated to all those who lost their life

 Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, 

 Oriental and Native American soldiers are represented 

A group of high school students from Korea were visiting this memorial when the Honor Flight arrived. The students visited with the (I think 4 or 5) Korean veterans and had a group photo taken with our veterans. This photo was posted by a guardian of one of the Korean veterans. 

Lincoln Memorial from the Mall

Lincoln Memorial

Vietnam War Memorial

over 58,000 names are listed on The Wall

The Jet Blue plane touched down in Sioux Falls just before 9 PM Tuesday evening. It was an amazing, impressive, and well-organized trip. Groups of people with signs and flags met them at the Dulles airport and at a number of their stops. They were offered snacks and water throughout the day, along with their three meals. Curt had a packet of cards and letters to read from well-wishers he did not know. So did all the Honor Flight veterans.

It costs around $200,000 for an Honor Flight. There is no cost to the veterans. The guardians consider it an honor to pay for their flight. Mission Flight #27 was sponsored by the Gary & Connie Grittner Foundation. All flights are privately funded through donations. If you would like more information, consider checking the Midwest Honor Flight webpage.