SOUTHERN COLORADO (KOAA) — More than 50 Southern Colorado veterans are on the trip of a lifetime to Washington, D.C. this weekend to see the war memorials built in recognition of their service to our country.
Honor Flight 20, hosted by the Honor Flight of Southern Colorado, allows veterans to visit the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War memorials at no cost.
On Thursday morning, more than 100 community members lined the sidewalks of the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs to thank the group of former servicemembers before they embarked on their three-day trip. The Colorado Springs Police Department gave the men and women a police escort to the Denver International Airport.
George Guerrero, a Vietnam veteran, said he's looking forward to building relationships and sharing stories with fellow soldiers.
"That's the biggest thing I'm looking forward to, is to be there with my peers," he said. "The companionship and friendship that I hope to form with my fellow soldiers who went through the things that I went through, and we can relate to each other."
For many veterans, seeing the war memorials in D.C. can bring up a lot of emotions. The Honor Flight serves as a safe space for veterans to process those emotions and heal past traumas.
“All of us guys have shared a lot of the same experiences and family, you know, they don’t really know all we went through," said Vietnam veteran Alan Jacobsen.
Jack Chaffee, a 100-year-old World War II veteran, is on board Honor Flight 20. He said the community support and police escort to DIA on Thursday morning was "pretty cool" and remembers the moment he was chosen to go on the flight.
“They said do you want to do that? Would you like to join an Honor Flight with the Navy? And I said yes, absolutely I do!" said Chaffee.
Community members are asked to welcome home Honor Flight 20 on Saturday, May 10 at 5:30 p.m. at the Colorado Springs Christian School. The group of veterans is expected to arrive at 6 p.m.
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