Utah veterans in Washington DC for the Honor Flight Program
Nov 12, 2024, 7:01 PM | Updated: 7:22 pm
PROVO — Of all the days there have been in the past 55 years, Vietnam Veteran Lloyd Williams wasn’t sure a day like today would ever happen.
Not so much because of the free breakfast at the Provo Airport with his son, but because of the thank you’s he was finally getting.
“It’s nice to have a free meal once in a while,” Williams said. “I remember coming home from Vietnam and no recognition whatsoever. And we’re finally getting recognition and this is just absolutely fantastic.”
Coming home from the Vietnam War wasn’t easy for those who served over there, which makes today even more special.
“It was absolutely lousy and I haven’t talked to a Vietnam veteran who got welcomed home. It wasn’t good,” Williams said. “I’ll tell you what, there’s a lot of emotion. Lots of emotion.”
Williams is one of 75 veterans chosen to go to Washington DC as part of the Utah Honor Flight. It’s an organization full of volunteers who fly veterans to our nation’s capitol to see the war memorials and military sites.
“It means the world to us,” Director of Utah Honor Flight Stephanie Harmon said.
This is the 27th Honor Flight Stephanie Harmon has been a part of she’s the director of the program and says doing this never gets old.
“It’s hard to listen to them tell us thank you, especially when they sacrificed so much and they’re telling us thank you just for a trip to DC, so it’s amazing,” Harmon said.
The veterans arrived at the Provo airport at about 5 this morning. They go with a person they choose to help them along on the trip. But more than seeing the sites is the feeling they get when someone sees the group and says thank you. Especially for Vietnam Vets.
“It’s an honor to be honored,” Vietnam Veteran from Parowan Ed Alpers said. “I saw friends come back from [Vietnam] and they got egged and tomatoes.”
“It’s nice to have the American people behind us. We love this country.”
And for some of these veterans, this may be the only chance they’ll ever see those memorials.
“I have never been to Washington DC, so this is really special for me,” Williams said.
Even though it is a pretty quick trip, the group will be back here, seeing the site and all of the memorials over two days. it is a fast, jam-packed schedule, but everyone we spoke with says it is absolutely worth it and they were looking forward to this trip.
