At 7 a.m. this Sat., May 15, participants in the 2010 Covington Regional Honor Flight will depart the South Alabama Regional Airport bound for Washington, D.C.
If you stop to think about all the day encompasses, it is amazing.
First, that through the generosity of a grateful community, e World War II and Korean veterans will travel at no charge to the nation’s capitol to visit monuments to their efforts. Many will see the war memorials for the first time, and the day is designed to make them feel appreciated for the sacrifices they made. Even decades later, some of their war stories are too painful to tell; for a lifetime of that pain, we owe them this and much more.
Volunteers who believe in this effort are giving their time and paying their own way to serve as guardians during the trip.
And perhaps most amazing of all is that a chartered 120-passenger plane will land at the South Alabama Regional Airport and take this group straight to Washington. There’ll be no time spent traveling to an airport; no time changing planes in Atlanta. This makes for a much easier day for the veterans and gives all of Covington County another reason to be proud.
The flight is expected to leave at 7 a.m. Saturday and return at 7:30 p.m. We hope you’ll join us there in the morning or evening or both to give them a heroes’ sendoff and a heroes’ welcome.