MILITARY REUNION NEWS USS John Young, DD-973 + speaker, Long Hyunh Honor Flight Network, Military touring

Long Hyunh, speaker at USS John Young, DD-973 reunion.

USS John Young, DD-973

USS John Young, DD-973 reunion planner Michael Trotta shares several things at each reunion. He has a map marked where past reunions were held and lapel pins or patches as souvenirs at each reunion which can be attached to the map. The ship was stationed in the South China Sea in the late 1970s where part of their mission was to rescue adrift boat people. Some of the sailors have kept up with refugees who are invited to attend reunions. At a recent reunion, Long Hyunh, Elk Grove, California, a Vietnamese refugee, was a very compelling guest speaker recalling his amazing rescue at sea in April of 1981. His recollections are as fresh as though they’d just happened and are inspiring to hear and learn of their appreciation of the ships mission.

Honor Flight Network

The Honor Flight Network was formed in 2005 with a mission of honoring our nation’s veterans by bringing them to Washington, DC, to visit the memorials and monuments dedicated to their service and sacrifice. The Honor Flight Network is currently comprised of over 130 hubs throughout the country dedicated to carrying out the Honor Flight mission. In addition to World War II veterans, the organization transports those who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, intermediary operations, and in special cases of terminal illness or injury, veterans from more recent service eras.

Participation in an Honor Flight trip allows veterans to experience the monuments built in their honor alongside their comrades and remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Each year, with the help of volunteers and generous partners, Honor Flight Network coordinates the travel of approximately 25,000 veterans from around the country to the memorials and

monuments in Washington, D.C. All honored veterans travel at no cost to them.

There is a waiting list of approximately 50,000 veterans eager to visit the memorials. Generous private donations and corporate support can help Honor Flight Network give veterans the exhilarating experience of visiting our nation’s war memorials that the 250,000 before them had.

Visit www.honorflight.org for more information.

Group of Wisconsin veterans at an Honor Flight. Michael Kelley, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, upper left, Vietnam Army veteran, said “It was the trip of a lifetime … so beautiful!”

Military touring

We found this compendium of military forts and museums that might interest reunion planners whose events may be nearby as places to visit. These would be places that would interest not only the veterans in the group but anyone interested in history and often the children who are able to experience history first hand. From the frontier forts of our westward expansion to the modern Air Force bases of the Cold War, military museums chronicle our past while honoring the men and women who fought for our freedom. www.reunionsmag.com/military-historyworth-visiting