Honor Air Chicago

Two weeks ago, my friend Aimee posted information on Facebook regarding Honor Air Chicago.  The Honor Air program is nationwide, and pays for WWII veterans to visit Washington DC and all the war memorials that are  here in their honor.   Its an amazing program, and this time last year, we participated by writing letters to some veterans who were flying here to visit from Florida. 

Different organizations raise money and the trip doesn't cost anything to the veterans.  Most of them are in their 70's, 80's and sometimes even 90's, and many of them have never been to Washington DC in their lifetime.  When I first heard about this program it really resonated with me. Both of my grandfathers served in WWII and it just made me so happy someone thought of a program to honor these heroes and show them how thankful we all are for their service to this country.

When Aimee posted that an Honor Air flight was coming thru Dulles Airport on April 4th, and that they needed people to greet the veterans, I knew we had to do it.  The airport is so close to us, and I thought it would be a great experience for our boys to pay their respects.  There will soon be a day when there aren't any WWII veterans still alive, and I wanted them to have this experience to remember.

We headed to the airport Wednesday evening.  I had given our names and birthdates to the area coordinator about a week ago, so she had gate passes waiting for us at the Southwest ticket counter.  I bought the boys American flags to wave, and we headed to Gate B50 to greet the veterans as they returned from a day of sight seeing in DC.

They were running a little late, and while we waited we met an area swing dancing club there to perform for the veterans, and dance with anyone who wanted to.

This swing group raised $6,000 for the Honor Air program, just in February alone.  It warms my heart to know there are groups out there making this happen for these guys.

Finally it was time! The veterans pulled up in buses outside and we lined up to greet them, hug them and shake their hands.  Some of them had cameras, some of them were crying, laughing and probably experiencing a huge range of emotions.

This is my favorite photo of the evening.  Dylan saluted all of the veterans, all 97 of them.

Dinners were passed out to all of them, and the dancing began. Some of the veterans got up out of their wheelchairs to dance a jig themselves!  The boys helped the Girl Scouts pass out cookies to anyone who wanted them, too.

It was a great night, and afterwards we took the boys to Fuddruckers for celebratory burgers.  I think they really enjoyed the experience.  I know I did!  They have many of these flights coming thru town frequently, so we hope to attend another one soon!