ST. LOUIS (First Alert 4) – The 107th Greater St. Louis Area Honor Flight departed early Tuesday morning for Washington, DC.
Veterans and their guests of honor stood impatiently waiting to board the flight from Lambert Airport while Terminal 2 was filled with loud chatter.
“We will go to Washington, see all the monuments and meet many other veterans,” said retired Marine Corps sniper Kent Clark.
Clark, who served from 1950 to 1958, boarded the ship with a photograph of his wife, Ruby. The two met during their deployment.
“I went up to her and said, ‘You know, Private, I think I’m going to marry you.’ She stood to attention and said, ‘Yes, sir.’ And then she giggled,” Clark said.
Among the participants of this mission:
- A group of brothers traveling together who both served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War
- Two World War II veterans on the flight, one 96 and the other 99 years old
- 10 veterans of the Korean War, most of them in their early to mid-90s
- 52 Vietnam War veterans
This is a particularly highly decorated group of veterans, including three who received the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious service in a combat zone and two who received the Purple Heart Medal for injuries sustained while serving in the U.S. military. Most of the rest were awarded medals of various kinds during their service.
Sandra Everett told First Alert 4 that her husband of 10 months was killed in Vietnam. She said she was proud to board the plane this week.
“Not for me, but to honor him for giving his life. He never hesitated. I would call him an American hero,” Everett said.
This mission will return to the airport around 8pm.
While in Washington, veterans will visit World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials, the Marine Corps Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Statue) and the Air Force Memorial, and they will witness the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Greater St. Louis Honor Flight was founded in 2008 and made its first flight in 2009. Since its inception, it has carried over 3,100 veterans.
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