By Abigail Roberts
Several local veterans got a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the nation’s capital in August, thanks to Honor Flight Kentucky.
Honor Flight Kentucky took 65 service men and women to Washington D.C. to spend time at the veterans’ memorials.
Lincoln County veteran, Lynn Young, was on this year’s Honor Flight. He was accompanied by his son, Shane Young.
Young, a U.S. Marine veteran who served in Vietnam, said it wasn’t his first time going to Washington D.C. to see the veteran memorials, but there were some new sights for him to see this time.
“I had been there twice before but never with the Honor Flight,” he said. “The women’s memorial building was new, the nurse’s statue was new. There were several things that were new.”
Young’s favorite part was visiting with fellow veterans and families.
“It was interesting to see how the people were in Washington, which they were very nice. Most of the civilian population that we met thanked us for our service. A little different than it was in ‘96, then they didn’t care all that much,” he said. “It was such a great thing to see everyone at the airport when we came home.”
Young said everyone associated with the Honor Flight was great.
“A big thank you to Todd Reed and all of his people who helped put this together for all of the veterans,” he said.
Janis Smith, of Yosemite, was accompanied by his daughter on the trip to D.C.
Smith, a U.S. Army veteran who served in Vietnam, said the trip was a wonderful experience.
“It brought back a lot of memories,” Smith said. “We got to see all of the memorials.”
Smith said it brought back memories of his time in Vietnam, walking through the jungle in the rain and the heat.
The trip was memorable, he said, with buses taking the groups to each memorial and giving them time to explore.
When the group arrived back in Kentucky, they were greeted with cheers and signs and well wishes – a stark contrast to the welcome home Smith received when he returned from Vietnam.
“We had a good welcome, nothing like when we came home from Vietnam,” he said. “We couldn’t have had a better day.”
Smith said his favorite part was the Vietnam Memorial and the changing of the guards.
Local veterans Joe and Robin Crain, of Stanford, also joined the Honor Flight.
Robin Crain was inducted into the Military Women’s Memorial.
