Three Moran veterans, Gene Gardner, Bruce Jackson and Jim Mueller, were among the honorees invited to travel to Washington, D.C., Thursday and Friday for an Honor Flight trip.
The Honor Flight was hosted by Southern Coffey County High School, which has ferried a total of 668 veterans to the nation’s capital over the past 17 years. The most recent trip was the group’s 24th.
Over the two-day span, the group saw a litany of memorials, while also getting to view the famed cherry blossoms in full bloom along the Tidal Basin.
But as much as they enjoyed seeing the sights, it was the reception the veterans received along the way that resonated most with Mueller, a Moran City Councilman.
Mueller is a 27-year Air Force veteran.
“They treated us like heroes,” he said. “It was amazing.”
Jackson, who served in the Marines for four years, including two years in Vietnam, imagined the experience was like traveling in a presidential motorcade.
“When we flew in, the whole airport was lined up with people cheering and clapping,” Jackson said. “That was pretty impressive.”
The veterans were kept busy from the second they arrived in Washington, with visits to the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial, the Air Force Memorial and Iwo Jima Marine Memorial before traveling to Arlington National Cemetery to see the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The second day included visits to other iconic D.C. sites, including memorials to President Abraham Lincoln, Korean War veterans, Vietnam War veterans, President Franklin Roosevelt and Martin Luther King Jr.
Then, when the group arrived at the Navy Memorial, they were greeted by retired Vice Admiral John Nowell.
Gardner, commander of the American Legion Post in Moran, has encouraged veterans of all stripes to take advantage of the trip. Now that he was able to experience the solemn pageantry, it made him appreciate the school’s efforts even more.
“They have done such a wonderful job of setting all of it up for us,” Gardner said. “I’d never considered going to Washington before, but if you are going, the Honor Flight is the only way to go.”
Gardner is a 24-year Army veteran, having retired in 2002.
“It was a fabulous trip,” Jackson concurred.
Jackson admitted that prior to the trip, he would have been content with a simple hat and t-shirt. “But this was impressive.”
Upon their return, the Honor Flight guests were greeted with a pair of fire trucks that shot off water cannons as their plane taxied off the runway.
