Stars & Stripes Flight

My Grandpa took a trip to Washington D.C. last month on a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight and Veterans Day is the perfect time to tell you about this wonderful opportunity. This flight is sponsored by various companies and donations but the object is to have WWII veterans visit their memorial in Washington D.C. before they no longer have the chance as we are loosing more and more of that generation each day. My Uncle Brian was able to accompany my Grandpa for this trip and act as his guardian. Some beautiful pictures from the day can be found HERE and my Grandpa is on the 7th one down.

The part that we played in this day was in the homecoming that evening. When John and I decided to go to the airport to greet Grandpa on his arrival home we had no idea how big this event really was. I figured family members would be there but this was so much more as people from the community come to visibly say "thank you" and support the veterans. We arrived an hour before his flight was expected to arrive and it was already very crowded and difficult to find a place to stand. My Grandma and some other family members were there too. John played cards with the boys while we waited for quite awhile.

The flight was late but as we heard of the arrival the feeling in the room was of pure excitement. People lined the parade route with flags and signs of welcome and as the first veterans came through there was applause all around and shouts of thanks. It was such an emotional event and as we watched Uncle Brian pushing Grandpa's wheelchair the tears flowed freely. What an amazing thing to witness!

I am thankful for both of my Grandpa's and how they served our country and am so glad my children were able to be a part of this. Now we need to get my other Grandpa on this flight as well!

Missy with her Opa

Oops! Missed my Uncle Brian on this one
but wanted you to see the sign.