Honor Flight Chicago flies veterans to see D.C. memorials, marking 100th trip
CHICAGO - The 100th Honor Flight Chicago took off from Midway Airport carrying more than 100 war veterans who are being treated like VIPs all day in Washington D.C.
United States veterans from the Vietnam War, the Korean War and even World War II are the guests of Honor Flight Chicago.
Volunteers escort them and tend to their every need.
Some of the veterans haven’t talked about their wartime experiences until now, in the company of their peers, each veteran a body of living history.
Mark Gannon served in the Air Force in World War II. He is 100 years old and was drafted into the Army when he was 20.
A married couple of veterans shared their secret to a happy marriage. They’ve been husband and wife 57 years.
And a Vietnam veteran got to go with his father, a WWII veteran.
Even the Southwest Airlines plane was special, painted red, white, and blue and put in service last summer. Veterans got to look at the outside of the plane before boarding.
Honor Flight Chicago provides these trips to thank veterans for their service and to inspire appreciation and gratitude for the nation’s military.