Honor Flight Austin had the amazing honor of being the only Honor Flight Chapter in America invited to represent all US WWII Veterans in ceremonies on December 7th, 2019 in Washington DC.
11 Austin area WWII Veterans (9 men and 2 women) were invited to tour the White House and then to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery in honor of those lost at the Pearl Harbor attack. Each veteran was called by name and each laid another wreath at the WWII memorial ceremony, attended by thousands.
No matter where these heroes went, from the airport in Austin, to the streets of DC, virtually everyone who saw them stopped what they were doing to applaud, salute and hope to shake their hands. These men and women from the Greatest Generation (all in their 90’s) couldn’t have been more grateful, moved and humbled.
This is what Honor Flight is all about – and this mission not only made us all grateful and proud to be Americans, but also Texans from Austin. I served as a Guardian for 92 year old Grover Cleveland Williams who served in the US Navy.
He is a hero to all of us… and my weekend couldn’t have been more blessed.
~Bob Cole
📷: Bob Cole
Honor Flight Austin is a non-profit organization created to honor veterans by transporting them to visit and reflect at their war memorials. Honor Flight Austin serves veterans residing within Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Fayette, Gillespie, Gonzales, Hays, Lee, Llano, Milam, Travis and Williamson Counties. To support Honor Flight Austin or to learn more about the organization go to www.honorflightaustin.org.
