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Mid-Michigan Honor Flight spotlights veterans for their sacrifices
Some Mid-Michigan Honor Flight veterans received the recognition they deserve on a recent trip to Washington DC.
FOX 2 - Some thank yous are worth waiting for. Our Vietnam veterans served their country, then returned to silence while others came home to slurs and shouting.
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Decades later, they are getting the thank you that they deserve, and it is all thanks to the Mid-Michigan Honor Flight, a non-profit that continues to remind veterans that their service and sacrifice will never be forgotten.
The Mid-Michigan Honor Fight lifted off to Washington, D.C., giving 75 veterans and their guardians the trip of a lifetime.
"You have to look back at it as part of history now," said John Swenson. "You don't know what you're getting into."
There are sounds one never forgets.
The average age was 19 in Vietnam, now the average age of veterans from that war are 80.
It's the sound of Americans finally saying welcome home. But to understand the magnitude of this moment, you have to go back to where this journey began – Flint Bishop Airport, on September 15.
‘I Will Never Forget It’
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On board, 68 Vietnam veterans, five from the Korean War and two servicemen from World War II, both from Lapeer.
Ron Cheryl is awestruck. All these strangers waving the Stars and Stripes for him.
"I will never forget it," he said.
Bob Green is the president of Mid-Michigan Honor Flight.
"You know, a lot of the Vietnam veterans and Korean War and World War II veterans, they just have the feeling that, well, I served and nobody really cares," he said. "And this is our way of proving to them that, yes, people do care about you and your service."
We landed in Washington, D.C. where the mission and memories begin.
FOX 2's Erica Francis got the chance to tag along on Mission 27 to Washington D.C. with an unforgettable group of veterans from mid-Michigan.
For more of their honor flight trip, watch the video player above.
What you can do:
The Mid-Michigan Honor Flight is funded entirely by donations. Each flight costs about $160,000.
The group flies four missions a year and more than 1,100 Vietnam veterans are still on the wait list.
It is all run by volunteers, including some of the guardians who make the trip alongside the veterans.
If you would like to donate or maybe take part, you can apply to be a guardian, go to MidMichiganHonorFlight.org