Buffalo, NY (WBEN) A weekend journey for 37 veterans will be one they'll never forget. They returned home to a hero's welcome as they returned from Honor Flight.
After flying out of Buffalo, veterans landed at Baltimore Washington International Airport, where they were greeted with applause and by a town crier. "The greeting we got made me cry, it's something I didn't anticipate," says Navy veteran Archie Oleszkowski, who served in Korea in the Navy. Ron Sutz, who served in the Army in Vietnam, was also moved. "It was just heartwarming," says Sutz.
The first stop was the World War II Memorial. Tim Van Buren served in Vietnam in the Army. "I went to Vietnam, but World War II was worse, It was probably (the war) with the most killed and all the terrible things that happened there," says Van Buren.
From there, veterans went to the Korean Memorial. There, Russ Casterline was honored with the Ambassador of Peace medal, something that surprised him. He got a bigger surprise when he was asked to be one of four to participate in the wreath laying ceremony Sunday at Arlington National Cemetery. "I never would have dreamt that in a million years," says Casterline.
Casterline was joined by Mike Cutini, who earned a Purple Heart in Korea, George Snedden, who earned a Purple Heart while serving in the Army in Vietnam, and Eugene Pierce, who served in the Army during the Cold War. "I was honored to have the honor of honoring the unknown," says Pierce.
Among the stope Sunday were the Marine Memorial featuring the Iwo Jima statue, the FDR Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. The latter was a surprise stop as a planned visit to the Navy Memorial was scrapped because of an event nearby.
In the coming weeks, you'll hear more stories from those who took part in Honor Flight.
Two day mission honors veterans with tours of Washington, DC memorials
Two day mission honors veterans with tours of Washington, DC memorials
