Utah Honor Flight brings veterans to Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of Utah Veterans were up early Friday morning to take a Utah Honor Flight from Salt Lake City.

The group brings veterans to some of the war memorials in Washington, D.C.

For many of them, this was the first time they visited these memorials, which is the main goal of the Utah Honor Flight group — to bring veterans to the nation’s capital as a way to say thank you for their service.

KSL’s Alex Cabrero is traveling with that group and said there were a lot of emotions amongst the veterans.

The @UtahHonorFlight is getting ready to leave @slcairport for Washington DC. This is the group that brings veterans to the sights and memorials in our nation’s Capital. We’re tagging along with them for stories on @KSL5TV. pic.twitter.com/MS98Y85VYh

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) September 17, 2021

Of all the birthdays Mark McKell has celebrated, his 103rd on Friday is one to remember.

“Oh, it’s amazing,” he said with a smile.

McKell, who lives in Spanish Fork, is a World War II veteran.

On Friday, as part of the Utah Honor Flight, he got to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

The Utah veterans with the @UtahHonorFlight have just arrived in Washington DC. We’re about to visit the Memorials, starting with the WWII Memorial. We’ll have some stories on this visit for @KSL5TV at 5, 6:00, 6:30, and 10. #ksltv pic.twitter.com/d1rDQ5E76e

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) September 17, 2021

“It’s almost like a dream. I’ll wake up maybe in an hour and find out it was just a dream,” said McKell. “It doesn’t seem real.”

He was one of about 75 Utah veterans making the Utah Honor Flight trip from Salt Lake City to Baltimore, then onto buses to The National Mall in the nation’s capital, to see the sights and experience the war memorials before it is too late.

“It means a lot to me that they’re remembering us and that we can do this,” said Lee Sanchez, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam and Desert Storm.

Unfortunately, for some Utah veterans, there just wasn’t enough time.

“We lost thirteen veterans who were called for a spring flight in 2019, and when we started calling them for the September flight this year, thirteen family members informed us that their veteran had passed away,” said Stephanie Harmon, who is the chairperson for Utah Honor Flight.

In the almost two years @UtahHonorFlight to DC was canceled because of COVID, 13 veterans have died who should have been on this next trip. The group has some of their pictures to bring along. They took photos at the memorials for their families. @KSL5TV at 10. pic.twitter.com/HFT9EUFOrs

— Alex Cabrero (@KSL_AlexCabrero) September 18, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic canceled almost two years’ worth of Honor Flights.

The last trip was in November of 2019.

So, Harmon asked those families for photos so she could take them on this first trip back.

She even took photographs of the photos in front of the WWII, Vietnam and Korean War Memorials.

“We were able to bring eight of them, and obviously, we have the other ones in our hearts,” she said.

It was a reminder of how special these flights are, especially for World War II veterans like McKell, where even 103 years almost wasn’t enough time to come here.

“It makes you appreciate being a citizen of this great land,” said McKell.

The Utah Honor Flight group will continue its tour of Washington, D.C. sights before coming home to Utah Saturday evening.