Shocked veterans were left with tears in their eyes after being greeted by former President Barack Obama as their flight landed in the nation’s capital this weekend.
On the eve of Veteran’s Day, Obama boarded an Honor Flight teeming with service people from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam who had come from Madison, Wisconsin, to visit Washington-area monuments.
“Hello, everybody!” Obama’s voice booms over the plane’s loudspeaker, drawing exclamations of “What!” and gasps from the veterans on board.
“I wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service,” the former president continued. “To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored.”
The video shows veterans with their jaws dropped in shock over getting honored by a former president, who stood on the passenger boarding bridge to shake hands with each person as they departed the plane.
Honor Flight Network is a nonprofit that provides free flights for veterans to visit Washington-area monuments dedicated to various wars.
“Last time I got to see a president, it was Gerald Ford,” one veteran remarked to Obama as he shook his hand. Ford, the 38th president, served from 1974 to 1977.
“How about that?” Obama laughed in response, patting the veteran on his back.
In addition to Obama surprising the veterans, a crowd of proud Americans was waiting at the airport to cheer on their arrival.
“It was really the joy of my heart today to see all these people,” U.S. Air Force Veteran James Nelson said. “It’s good. We still got patriotic people in our country.”
The warm arrival was emotional for many of the veterans.
“I had tears in my eyes,” Army veteran Joe Parr said. “I just couldn’t believe that there were that many people around that remembered us and was there to greet us and it was just unbelievable.”
Captain Mary Quigley, a Navy veteran and Honor Flight volunteer, said the organization’s goal was to treat veterans with the “dignity that some of them didn’t get when they came home from the war.”
“That’s the first time I’ve seen a president, former or current, greet an Honor Flight and that is absolutely amazing. A commander-in-chief, a leader, who is going to show up and tell you that your service was worth something,” she said.
The Honor Flight program has been around for about 20 years, providing over 317,000 veterans with flights to view war monuments since 2005, the organization says on its website.
Race against time to honor hero nurses who dodged bullets and saved lives in WWII
‘Cult of the poppy’: Why readers are ditching the remembrance symbol
Royal Navy veteran issues heartfelt Remembrance Day plea
King Charles leads Remembrance Sunday service at Cenotaph
Trump downplays backlash to 50-year mortgage plan
ICE reportedly standing down in Chicago as Trump cries: ‘CALL IN THE TROOPS’
