I have never been on hand to greet an Honor Flight before. This is a mistake I intend to remedy because being at the Rochester airport when the Honor Flight veterans come home is an amazing experience!
My friend, Paul Tramonto Sr. went on this particular flight. He was attended by my niece Amanda (also his daughter-in-law) who went with him as his "guardian". The guardian accompanies the honoree to all the events, memorials and helps see to their needs... And each honoree has a wheelchair available to them in Washington D.C.... even if they don't need it... in case they get tired. The planners want nothing to spoil or lessen the pleasure of the trip. They visit all the war memorials... they see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier... And they are treated like royalty.
They came home mid-day Sunday and this is what it looked like:
The Boy Scouts were practicing how to present the colors and salute!
A robotics class from a local high school here to greet the veterans!
Me with Lena, Mary Ruth, Eli and Finn.... patriotic fun stuff to wear!
It was wonderful. Inspirational. And there were ladies dressed in vintage 1940s clothes, ready to plant kisses on cheeks... and leaving "lipstick" lips.... It was so cute.
Everyone clapped. Everyone cheered. And there were two Vietnam veterans with tears in their eyes because it took over 45 years for them to get the welcome home they missed in the early 70s....
The whole thing was an amazing experience. Fun and thought-provoking and just a great way to teach children the beauty of sacrifice and the sacrifices required to maintain freedom.
A great day for all of us.
There won't be another flight until next spring because the weather needs to cooperate, but you can bet that I'll be there to greet some of those flights when they come marching (or rolling...) home.
God is good.
