TULSA, Okla. — Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight took another plane full of Veterans, Guardians, and others to Washington, D.C., this week.
The one-day trip takes months to plan and hundreds of hours from the volunteers.
On this flight were 65 Veterans.
Every one of them traveled far and wide to protect our freedoms.
They spent months, and sometimes even years, away from their families.
Many came back to a less-than-ideal welcome home.
The goal of the flight is not only to allow them to see the memorials but also to give them the welcome home each deserves.
Gus Embry is a Marine veteran who served in Khe Sanh, Vietnam.
Embry's emotions after seeing the Marine Corps War Memorial can be summed up with smiles.
"Happiness because we made it through," Embry said. "You know, from the beginning, to look and see what was accomplished. And we were able to do that."
He said it was the honor of his life.
"Because you do something worthwhile," he said. "If you serve, you would be able to tell your family, kids. Pass it on."
The memorial, affectionately called the Iwo Jima Memorial for the scene it depicts, brings Embry great pride.
"Them holding up the flag, not letting it touch the ground. It's sacred," Embry said.
Washington, D.C. is covered in sacred ground, including Arlington National Cemetary.
The Tomb of the Unknown is guarded 24/7, no matter the weather.
At the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial, emotions can run high.
"It can be painful," Wayne Dobson, Vietnam Veteran, said. "I got seven friends. Seven friends that I saw die. On the wall."
Dobson said most of his feelings at the wall are sad, but not all.
"Some of them are happy because you think of the times you had fun with them. And the times you cried with them," he said.
With the help of Dobson's son and brother, a fellow Vietnam Veteran, he searched for his friend's names among the nearly 60,000 others on the wall.
On the other side of the reflecting pool is the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
Don Stacey served in Korea. He liked many, knew of the memorials, but was stunned when he saw them with his own eyes.
"I wasn't really aware, you know. That they had this nice memorial here," Stacey said. "It's really astounding. You know. Especially the statues and everything. I haven't looked at everything yet. But it's quite a display."
Of the 65 Veterans, Erle Donaldson was the single WWII servicemember.
He was there with his son, Vincent Donaldson, a Vietnam Veteran.
"We just left Arlington," Vincent said. "Most of the people underneath those stones never got a chance to get old. And have the privilege of being honored in something like this."
A privilege Erle said he was given in 1945 when he was sent to Kwajalein.
"I worked mostly on telephones," Erle said. "Repair telephones and put in lines and that sort of stuff."
And after three months there, he was sent to a very different climate in Alaska.
"If I had to do it over again, I would. I'd do more or less the same thing. Or perhaps I'd go into medicine," Erle said.
Each Veteran had a guardian.
In some cases, the guardian is a close family member.
"It feels great to have my son and daughter with me. It makes it a lot better and a lot more comfortable," Erle said.
Wayne Dobson was with his brother and one of his sons. The other could not make the flight.
However, he did make another to Tulsa International Airport to meet his father for the welcome home this Vietnam Veteran deserves.
The first flight for the hub was in 2017, making this the eighth trip to D.C. for nearly 600 Oklahoma Veterans.
There are nearly 300 Veterans on the waiting list to go on a flight.
For how you can get involved, visit the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight webpage here.
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