WASHINGTON D.C. — News5's Brie Groves and Photojournalist Ryan Mutch joined this year's Honor Flight Southern Colorado trip to Washington, DC, for a trip allowing our veterans to see the monuments in their honor.
The veterans arrived at the Colorado Springs Airport and were escorted by the Patriot Guard and others as they set off for their monumental tour. The veterans who attended included one who served in World War II, four who served in the Korean War, and 22 who served in Vietnam.
Their mission is to celebrate America's veterans by inviting them to share in a day of honor at National Memorials. It includes an all-expenses paid trip to the memorials in Washington, D.C., a trip many of our veterans may not otherwise be able to take.
Participation in an Honor Flight trip gives veterans the chance to share this momentous trip with other veterans, to remember friends and comrades lost, and share their stories and experiences with each other.
Honor Flight of Southern Colorado is part of the larger Honor Flight Network which is a group of 128 locally-affiliated hubs throughout the U.S. dedicated to taking War-era veterans to Washington DC to see and interact with the memorials built in their honor and for their brave service.
Honor Flight of Southern Colorado has already taken over 300 southern Colorado heroes to Washinton since starting in 2011 and started up again post-Covid April last year.
Honor Flight Mission 15 departed from the Colorado Springs Airport and spent the rest of their time on a whirlwind three-day tour of the DC area.
They are expected to visit World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam War memorials as well as the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King memorial, the FDR Memorial, the Navy Memorial, the War (Iwo Jima) Memorial of the United States Marine Corps, the Air Force Memorial, and the Arlington National Cemetery where they will get a chance to view the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
The Mission 15 Homecoming Celebration took place on Saturday, Oct. 15, at Sierra High School, and the community came out to celebrate their return.
Honor Flight of Southern Colorado will be sponsoring a Women-only flight in the Spring of 2023 and is seeking guardians and volunteers to participate in this Honor Flight mission.
More information can be found online.
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