3 minute read
Honor Flight San Diego Flies Again
After two years and three postponed trips due to the COVID pandemic, Honor Flight San Diego returned to the skies. It was a three-day weekend in early October and the plane was filled with 94 Southern California veterans from every branch of service, including 28 WWII veterans, six veterans over the age of 100, and six female veterans!
The veterans included men who are Silver, Bronze Star and Purple Heart recipients, one veteran who was part of the ship transport for the Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima, and there were survivors from the historical Battle of the Chosin Reservoir. The oldest female veteran at 102-years-young, U.S. Navy WAVE Winona Ruth Gunther, is a two-time book author and was given a Living Legend Award at the Military Women’s Memorial.
The veterans were 75 to 104 years old, but during the whirlwind trip you would never know it. When the Honor Flight San Diego team leaders arrived at the airport at 0400, there was a veteran already waiting for them. Over the next 60 hours, the veterans, their guardians, and the Honor Flight team traveled to Washington, D.C. and back to San Diego. The trip included witnessing the changing of the guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, and visiting the World War II, Lincoln, Korea, Vietnam, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marine Corps, Women in Service for America Memorials, and touring the National Navy and National Electronics Museums.
For many of the veterans, the trip was much more than visiting memorials and museums. They bonded, connected, met new friends, and got some closure from their military experiences. After 18 months of isolation and lock down without being able to visit family and friends, this trip was EXACTLY what they needed.
The finale of the weekend was arriving to 800+ wellwishers at the San Diego International Airport. As the veterans deplaned, they were greeted by Army, Air Force, and Navy ROTC cadets and cadre, and activeduty men and women who issued first salutes. The well-wishers wore patriotic attire, waved American Flags, and shook the veteran’s hands to thank them for their service. The homecoming was fit for a hero and emotions ran strong as they got the welcome home they may not have received after the war.
“I will remember this weekend for the rest of my life,” said a veteran about the trip. These 94 veterans had a trip of a lifetime and the person leading the planning and logistics was Honor Flight San Diego Chairman, Julie Brightwell. For her, it was a momentous trip too – it was her 50th Honor Flight. Her adventures started in 2008 in Columbus, Ohio when she was the guardian for her U.S. Army father Earl Mann, who was a WWII veteran. Since then, she rose through the ranks from guardian to team leader, to Flight Director and Chairman of the nonprofit organization. She has enhanced the lives of thousands of senior veterans in her volunteer service to them and they thank her with hugs, kisses, and tears of emotion.
Since 2010, Honor Flight San Diego has flown nearly 1,500 senior veterans on their “Tourof Honor”. The organization is one of about 130 independent hubs in the United States under the Honor Flight Network and one of the last hubs to still have large numbers of WWII veterans to go on the trip. Pending funding, the organization plans to take two flights in 2022 - they are actively looking for Southern California WWII and Korea veterans, and veterans from any era who have a terminal illness.
For more information or to get a senior veteran on their Honor Flight, call (800)655-6997 or go to:
