Veterans take first Old Glory Honor Flight to New York 9/11 memorials
GREENVILLE, Wis. (WBAY) - About 60 veterans took off on a groundbreaking Old Glory Honor Flight from Northeast Wisconsin Thursday morning. The flight is the first of its kind, bringing veterans who served post-9/11 to New York City.
They’ll visit the 9/11 memorial and museum, Freedom Tower, and Statue of Liberty over the course of three-and-a-half days.
The trip is called the Freedom to Liberty Tour: A Mission of Healing.
It’s a fitting title, as Old Glory Honor Flight’s executive director, Diane MacDonald, says many veterans are going through the application process identified with mental health concerns.
She says this mission is a chance for veterans to come together in support of one another.
Ken Corry, an Air Force veteran, said, “There’s gonna be a lot of memories, like a lot of connections that we can take from this trip, and continue those as we move forward in our lives, and give us that comradery that we had while we we’re in to build more relationships.”
Corry served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We’ve all served overseas, every single one of us here, so we’re going to be around our fellow brothers and sisters that were there and did it, so it’s going to be very powerful and impactful,” he said.
Bill Chapman, who served in the Marine Corps and Army, remembers being assigned to a ground ambulance company in 2001.
“During 9/11 I was actually locked down at work while I was in uniform, so this is kind of going to be like closing the circle for me,” he said.
Action 2 News anchor Jeff Alexander and photojournalist Bill Kumbalek are joining these veterans on the trip. Watch Action 2 News at 10 for their first report from Day One.
If you’d like to welcome the veterans home on Sunday, monitor WBAY.com for upcoming details.
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