Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mission Accomplished! Honor Flight #09 Brings CNY Veterans to Washington D.C. to Visit and Reflect

Seventy-eight Central New York veterans from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam made a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C. this weekend on the ninth annual Syracuse honor flight.  WAER's Scott Willis and Katie Zilcosky had the honor of joining them and their guardians to visit key monuments and memorials.  

The veterans were warmly received everywhere they went…first as they arrived at Hancock airport before sunrise Saturday morning.      Hundreds more greeted them as they arrived at Reagan national airport in Washington, complete with a jazz band.             

The warm greetings and thank you’s continued throughout the day as the veterans visited the World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam memorials.  The tour ended with a visit to Arlington Cemetery, where the veterans observed the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown solider.  

Several hundred people packed the grand hall of Hancock airport to "welcome home" the veterans for a parade and ceremony to cap off the long but memorable day.  

Check this space for updates.  Be sure to tune in to WAER later in the week for continued coverage of the honor flight and profiles of veterans.   

Scott Willis covers politics, local government, transportation, and arts and culture for WAER. He came to Syracuse from Detroit in 2001, where he began his career in radio as an intern and freelance reporter. Scott is honored and privileged to bring the day’s news and in-depth feature reporting to WAER’s dedicated and generous listeners. You can find him on twitter @swillisWAER and email him at srwillis@syr.edu.