Latest news with #VietnamMemorial
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
VFW Post 6873 hosts 300 riders for Vietnam memorial wall trip in Abilene
ABILENE, Texas () – The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 6873 (VFW) hosted over 300 riders on their way to the Vietnam Memorial Wall in D.C. at their Run For The Wall Event. Run For The Wall is an organization that travels from Ontario, California, to Washington, D.C., and from Marseilles, Illinois, every May with over 1,800 participants nationally. The organization's goal is to honor veterans and their families and friends, and its mission is to 'ride for those who can't.' The riders are on day four of their trip, fueling up in Colorado City and Cisco and then heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth area until day 10, when they arrive in Washington, D.C., and end at the Vietnam Memorial Wall. David 'Buzz' Mullins, the Assistant Route Coordinator for the Ride For The Wall Southern Route, emphasized that safety is a top priority for these bikers. 'All of these people from Ontario to D.C. and do it safely. We have rogue guards to help us. We have support vehicles. We have chase vehicles in case a motorcycle breaks down. They put them in a trailer and they're home to the next shop to get them fixed,' Mullins said. The participants left Key City around noon and made their way to the Dallas/Fort Worth area for their next stop. They are expected to finish their trip on Saturday, May 24, in Washington, D.C. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Honor Flight: Mission 22
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Mission 22 of Honor Flight Syracuse is in the books. More than 80 veterans from across Central and Upstate New York packed a week's worth of tours around the nation's capital in one day as a thank you for their service. Veterans who served as far back as World War II made the trip, stopping at the Vietnam Memorial, Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon, and the 911 Memorial. Among them were over 60 Vietnam-era veterans, just days after the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The next Honor Flight mission is scheduled for this fall, and they can always use your support. You can find out how to make donations or volunteer here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
01-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Guests of honor - High Point veterans join flight to see war memorials
HIGH POINT — When the veterans aboard the Triad Honor Flight returned from Washington, D.C., on Wednesday evening, they were greeted with thunder and lightning. First came the lightning, a spring storm that temporarily delayed the celebration awaiting them inside Greensboro's Piedmont Triad International Airport. After about an hour's delay, the vets finally were able to get off the plane and enter the concourse ... and then came the thunder. 'It was unbelievable,' Randall May, a 78-year-old U.S. Army veteran from High Point, said of the thunderous welcome he and his fellow veterans were given by a thousand or more cheering, flag-waving supporters who came out to show their appreciation for the veterans. 'It was kind of a surreal experience, like a dream was coming true. It was chilling.' Bennie Taylor, an 86-year-old Air Force veteran from High Point, agreed. 'Oh my gosh, it was overwhelming,' said Taylor, who served in the Air Force from 1957 to 1961. 'We thought everybody would be gone home by the time the lightning ended, but that airport was lined up with hundreds and hundreds of people.' The crowd ranged from friends and family members to complete strangers, from Highland bagpipers to uniformed Boy Scouts. As the veterans paraded along the concourse, the crowd serenaded them with chants of 'USA! USA!' and 'Freedom Isn't Free!' May, who served in the Army during the Vietnam War era, contrasted the welcome to the disrespectful treatment he witnessed as he walked through airports in his service uniform more than 50 years ago. 'When I and many others were discharged back in the '70s, there was no celebration,' May recalls. 'When you went through an airport, people would call you baby-killers, and some of them would even spit on you, but we were just trying to serve our country.' May and Taylor were among more than a hundred veterans — both men and women — who participated in Wednesday's Triad Honor Flight. They were flown free of charge to Washington, D.C., to visit the nation's memorials honoring the service and sacrifice of America's veterans. Stops included the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial — including The Wall and the 'Three Servicemen' sculpture — the Air Force Memorial and the Marine Corps War Memorial, featuring a sculpture of the iconic flag-raising at Iwo Jima. The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed the impressive 'Changing of the Guard' ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 'We were all just in awe of the 'Changing of the Guard,' but then to see all those tombstones at Arlington — what our ancestors had done to bring us the freedom of liberty that we have — had an impact on me, too,' said May. When May visited the 'Three Servicemen' sculpture at the Vietnam Memorial, he couldn't help but think about the soldiers he'd seen as an operating room specialist at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, a burn treatment center for napalm patients flown directly there from southeast Asia. 'Seeing those three guys in the sculpture, and then knowing what happened to those guys I saw at Brooke, that really hit me,' he said. For Taylor, a special part of the day was having his son, Michael, fly in from his home in Las Vegas, Nevada, to serve as his dad's guardian. Each Triad Honor Flight veteran is assigned a guardian, a volunteer who stays with the veteran throughout the day and takes care of anything he or she needs. 'The whole day, that was one of the most emotional things I've ever been involved in, especially having my son there with me,' Taylor said. 'It was all just overwhelming and emotional — it was a great day.' Triad Honor Flight officials say there will be another flight later this year. For more information, visit Jtomlin@ | 336-888-3579
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Waco Vietnam Memorial preserves veterans' legacies
WACO, Texas (FOX 44) — Along the banks of the Brazos lies years of sacrifice forever entrenched in Waco history with the Waco Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The memorial, inspired by the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C., was first designed in 1988 and officially dedicated in 2004, with a rededication in 2010. Now it serves as a tribute to those that served their country during the Vietnam War in Waco. 'That's part of just being a good ol' red, white and blue-blooded American,' Ret. Vietnam Helicopter Pilot Loren Kendig said. 'That element may get damaged from time to time but it never goes away. It never dies out.' From the beginning of the United States' involvement in the Vietnam War when the first troops deployed in 1965 to the Fall of Saigon marking the end of the war ten years later, sentiments are split between veterans. 'I was relieved that it was over,' Ret. USMC Col. William Bauer said. 'No more killing, no more loss of lives.' 'We haven't learned any lessons from Vietnam as a result of the mistakes we made there,' Ret. UMSC Fighter Pilot Bob Hollingsworth said. 'I think looking back on it now, we didn't go about it the right way,' Ret. USMC Maj. Richard Campbell said. 'We learned a lot.' A sentiment that leaves unresolved feelings towards the war in general when thanked for their service. 'I say, 'I'm sorry we lost', and my wife ribs me about that,' Kendig said. 'My personal opinion is that we lost that war.' 'For us Vietnam Vets, it just rings kind of hollow,' Campbell said. Despite all the controversy surrounding the war and its methods, the Waco Vietnam Memorial stands as a tribute to those who proudly served their country and wouldn't hesitate to do it again as the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon carries the weight of heavy loss. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Honor Flight 51 to return from Washington, D.C. Thursday night
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Honor Flight 51 is set to return to Kern County from Washington, D.C. on Thursday night. After landing in Washington, Kern County veterans visited several memorials, including the World War II Memorial, the Korean Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the Navy Memorial. They also visited the Arlington National Cemetery. Kevin Ormonde, a guardian on the trip, said his father was a Korean War veteran who wasn't physically able to join the 51st Honor Flight. Being from a military family, Ormonde said being able to hear the other veterans' stories was the highlight of this trip for him. Honor Flight 51: World War II veteran visits memorial built in his honor Ormonde said being able to come along as a guardian on Honor Flight 51 meant a lot to him. 'Just to be a part of it and just to be a help in some ways to our veterans to give a little bit back to them for the incredible amount of stuff they did for us,' Ormonde said. Honor Flight 51 departed from Kern County on Tuesday and will return to Meadows Field Airport on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
