KNOXVILLE (WVLT) – For more than 100 East Tennessee veterans, Saturday was a day they’ll never forget.
Early that morning, 113 former servicemen gathered at McGhee Tyson Airport and were flown to Washington DC for a one day, all-expenses paid trip thanks to the HonorAir program.
The veterans spent the day touring the National Mall, during which they were able to visit the World War Two, Vietnam War and Korean War memorials.
"I have never had such joy in all my life,” said Keith Honaker, a WWII veteran. “It's one of the greatest things to ever happen to me."
“I brought along some paper to make notes to leave behind a record of this trip for my children and grandchildren that may want to read about it in the future,” said Clinton Riddle, also a WWII veteran. “It means a lot to me."
HonorAir has flown three times and ferried more than 300 East Tennesseans to our nation’s capital. Unfortunately the most recent trip could be one of the last. According to organizers, each flight costs about $65,000, and even though they have plenty of eager passengers, they have very little money.
"We’re going forward with scheduling that flight because it's hard to tell these men and women no,” said Eddie Mannis, the owner of Prestige Cleaners who helped originally establish the HonorAir program in Knoxville. “Whenever they get their hopes up, it's hard to tell them that we can't fly, so we're going forward and just believe the funding will come."
Prestige foots the bill along with other corporate and private donations. All donations are tax deductible. If you'd like to help, just click on the link below.
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