67 years later, the homecoming (Mississippi - WWII Honor Flights)

Sun Herald ^ | April 25, 2012 | By DONNA HARRIS

[Islander7]

GULFPORT -- For many of the veterans on the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight 3, it was the homecoming they’d missed.

Several thousand people crowded the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport on Tuesday to welcome the 93 World War II veterans and the one Korean War veteran home after their daylong visit to Washington.

The well-wishers carried banners and waved flags, cheering for the weary heroes as they made their way to the airport’s commons area. Some shuffled, others rolled. All smiled.

[Islander7]

The Honor Flight project carries war veterans to the nation’s capital to see their memorial free of charge. This is the third such flight organized in Mississippi. Plans have begun for a fourth flight in the fall.

The veterans began their journey two hours behind schedule after a leak in the plane’s hydraulics required repair. Still, they were met at the Reagan National Airport with applause from hundreds of waiting passengers and well-wishers, including presidential candidate Newt Gingrich.

[Islander7]

Magnolia State Ping!

Blurry monitor alert!

[SuziQ]

One of my twin uncles was chosen for the first Honor Flight from MS. I never got a chance to ask him about it, because he died not too long after that. It’s wonderful, though, that these men are being celebrated for their service so long ago.