Honor Flight of Middle Tennessee takes veterans to Washington D.C.

  • Published
  • By Claude Morse, Honor Flight of Middle Tennessee
  • AEDC/PA
ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, TENN. --  Fifty World War II and Korean War veterans and their guardians traveled to Washington D.C. on May 10 to visit their war memorials and observe the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.

AEDC Commander Col. Raymond Toth, Coffee County Mayor David Pennington and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman were some of the local officials along with local National Guard officers - including two Tennessee National Guard general officers - seeing the veterans off from 2:45-3:45 a.m. that day in Winchester, Tullahoma and Manchester.

Local police and sheriff's departments from Coffee and Franklin counties escorted the veteran's chartered bus along with National Guard vehicles and the American Legion motorcycle riders.

At the Nashville International Airport, members of the Patriot Guard Riders welcomed the veterans with two lines of American flags. Once onboard the first flight to Washington for the day, the flight crew and other passengers recognized the veterans.

After arriving in Baltimore, active duty military personnel from Ft. Gordon, Ga., and Ft. Meade, Md., as well as a couple hundred civilians, gave the group a hero's welcome at the airport.

The veterans met Senators Bob and Elizabeth Dole at the World War II Memorial. They also talked with veterans from eight other Honor Flights from across the United States.
After a short lunch break, they visited the Korean War Memorial and then it was on to Arlington National Cemetery.

Coffee County Central High School graduate Maj. Paul Sipe of the U.S. Army and his wife Jessica greeted the group at Arlington National Cemetery where the veterans observed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.

The group also drove by the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial, the Air Force Memorial and the Pentagon.

At Ft. Mead Maryland, the group stopped for a military working dog demonstration and supper in the base dining hall.

A group of soldiers from Ft. Gordon, Ga., accompanied the veterans back to the airport and spent time with the veterans before they boarded their flight back to Nashville.

The Honor Flight of Middle Tennessee is part of the national Honor Flight network. The group's goal is to take all local World War II and Korean War veterans, who have not seen their war memorials, to Washington D.C. The trip is free to qualified veterans.

Planning and fundraising is currently under way for a fall Honor Flight from Middle Tennessee. Each flight costs around $20,000.

For more information call 247-5151.