Honor Flight program gives free tour to WWII veterans

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Ryan Kuntze
  • 128th Air Refueling Wing
Seventy World War II veterans returned from Washington D.C. during the late afternoon hours at General Mitchell International Airport here on Saturday, June 27, 2009. 

The veterans spent their day in the nation's capital visiting various museums and war memorials as part of the Honor Flight program. 

This was the third Honor Flight in Milwaukee, and it brought veterans from throughout the Midwest to several war memorials in the nation's capital, including the World War II Memorial. 

Various groups supported the veterans' return, including the Transportation Security Administration's Color Guard, soldiers from the Defense Contract Management Agency, and Airmen from the 128th Air Refueling Wing. 

A line of supporters, which extended from Concourse C all the way to the parking garage of Mitchell International, welcomed the veterans' return to Milwaukee. Hundreds of people lined up to show their support for the veterans. Some were there just for the homecoming, and others were passengers waiting for their flights. 

The Honor Flight program helps veterans to visit the memorials of the wars they had taken part in, is entirely free, and is mostly aimed toward veterans of World War II. It will eventually shift its focus to veterans of the Korean War and the Viet Nam war, as well as the veterans of current wars and conflicts. 

For more information on the Honor Flight program, visit www.honorflight.org.