Newberry veteran travels to Washington to see memorial

WW II Veteran John Witt will be onboard the April 27 Honor Flight to Washington, DC where he will visit the World War II Memorial on the National Mall.

NEWBERRY – John Witt, a WW II Veteran from Newberry has been selected for the Honor Flight to Washington, DC in Saturday, April 27. His Neighbor, Brad Caron, a retired Air Force veteran, will accompany him on the one-day trip.

Three separate Central Florida Honor Flight “hubs” of the National Honor Flight Network are working hard to put all the final touches in place to assure a safe and meaningful visit to Washington, DC by 75 veterans who are to be accompanied by 75 volunteer “guardians” and a staff of other volunteers on Saturday, April 27. Each of three separate volunteer organizations in Central Florida is acting on their plans to provide a truly memorable trip to vets who might otherwise never see the memorials erected in their honor.

Central Florida Hub Chairman, Allen Wilson, keeps that hub’s organization focused on a single priority – “it’s all about the vets who have honored us with their service, because it’s our time to honor them”. Central Florida area Veterans in their 80’s and 90’s, both men and women, who have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Merchant Marine, will travel to the World War ll and Korean War memorials, Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They will have a full carefully planned day where they can bond and reminisce on their personal memories of their service to our country.

Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for all their sacrifices. They raise funds to transport our heroes to Washington DC to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to senior Veterans – WW II survivors, along with those other veterans who may be terminally ill. Senior members of the “greatest generation” are dying at the rate of 800 a day, and the time to express thanks to these brave men and women is quickly running out.

Honor Flight volunteers strive to make the trip one of the more memorable events in each veteran’s life. “It took over 60 years for our World War ll Veterans to be formerly memorialized and we want them to know what their service means to a grateful nation” says Wilson.

Following the Honor Flight trip on April 27, a reunion of our Veterans and Guardians will be held on Saturday, May 18 in Altamonte Springs to again celebrate our Vet’s service and present them with personal mementos to commemorate their experience. Some of the more rewarding experiences occur when family members or active-duty serviceman and women participate as volunteer guardians and get to share this special trip with an honored vet, friend, family member or fellow patriot.  

Since the inaugural Honor Flight in May 2005, taking 12 World War ll Vets on a visit to their memorial in Washington, DC, Honor Flight has flown more than 100,000 veterans to Washington from cities all over the country. Honor Flight Central Florida has five additional Honor Flight mission trips planned in 2013. For more information, visit http://honorflightcentralflorida.org/ or call 407-203-7010.

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