Honor Flight Chicago

MVP was looking and feeling festive!

There was a band that played the oldies but goodies.

MVP knows how to work the crowd & make friends!

Soldiers young...

And soldiers old...the first veteran to walk through the crowd!

One of the many great welcome home signs.

Honor Flight Chicago is an organization that brings World War II veterans to Washington D.C., at no cost to them, for a day of honor.  These men and women have waited for 65 years to be honored and thanked in this manner for their service and sacrifice.  The current average age of the WWII veteran is 87 years old.  Time is running out.  Please check out the website at http://www.honorflightchicago.org/ and consider donating and/or volunteering.

For each flight there is a big welcome home celebration at the Midway Airport baggage claim.  I have wanted to attend one ever since I found out about the organization and so MVP and I went tonight.  What an amazing thing it was to see so many people out to cheer on these veterans as they made their way through the airport!  It was a fabulous, patriotic energy from people young and old.  Tonight's 90 veterans were supposed to arrive at 7 pm, but they were delayed until 8:45 due to bad weather between D.C. and Chicago.  The looks on their faces and the tears in their eyes as they walked through the cheering crowd was something I will never forget. 

We were there for a long time and MVP was a gem!  She made friends with everyone she met and people were taking pictures of her in her little flag dress.  Several Navy recruits who were marching by even paused to talk to her!  I am a proud mama.  My goal is that she grows up to be a thoughtful, active, appreciative citizen.