A Veteran in Washington

Last month we posted a story to our blog about World War II veteran and Open-Aire customer Peter D. When we last spoke with him he was looking forward to an Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.  Peter, who had never been to Washington, D.C. before, has since taken his trip, and we checked back in with him to see how it went.

The day-long trip started very early in the morning with Peter and 65 other veterans leaving from Syracuse, NY at dawn. When they arrived at the airport in Washington, D.C. they were greeted by 500 people with flags.  One woman gave him a quilted blanket. Red roses were given to each soldier. And an Irish choral group of 8 people sang the songs of the Army, Navy, and Marine and finished with God Bless America. 

As they left the airport they boarded a bus with a police escort and the veterans’ tour began. They were taken to the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and many other monuments.  It was a day packed full of sight-seeing, but Peter was ready for it. “My portable oxygen concentrator took care of me all day long. I got on the airplane with it with no problem at all. The tour organizers even charged the batteries for me while I was on the bus.”

It was certainly a full day, and by late afternoon it was winding down. Peter and the other veterans were taken back to the airport and embarked on a flight back home to New York. “I don’t know how Honor Flight did it,” says Peter. “They had our schedule pinned down to the last minute. Everything was perfect. It was a beautiful day. Wherever we went we had the best seats and the best views. And the whole day we were surrounded by well-wishers.”

We are very happy that Peter enjoyed his Honor Flight trip so much, and hope he enjoys Veterans Day as well. He certainly deserves it. We would also like to thank Honor Flight for making this trip possible for Peter and so many of our other heroes.