Inland Northwest Honor Flight's mission is to transport Inland Northwest war veterans to Washington D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.
At least that is how they describe what they do on their website. But the meaning of what they do runs much, much deeper than that.
Do you want to see what it REALLY means? Visit Spokane International Airport when these men and women return home to rallying family, friends, and fellow veterans. THEN you will know what this trip really means to them. Oh, and I challenge you not fight back some tears.
SPOILER ALERT: You will lose this challenge.
Men and women who were once in top physical condition, who braved the atrocities of war, who lived in inhospitable conditions for what must have seemed like forever, are now aging and frail. It's hard to imagine these grandfatherly men, many in wheelchairs, risking their lives during their youth to protect their country. Some still speak of their time serving their country, others moved on with their lives and never said much about it. Some received gratitude when they returned home from overseas, others were tossed aside and ignored. Regardless, most of them have never seen the memorials dedicated to them in Washington DC. Inland Northwest Honor Flight rights that wrong.
After two emotional days in Washington DC, veterans arrive home to Spokane International Airport. It's not a quiet, somber affair. It's more of a raucous surprise party with 300 of your closest friends. The music of high school bands echo throughout every corridor, cub scouts in uniform wave flags, and there are more handshakes and genuine thank-yous to individuals than anyone could possibly soak up in such a short period of time.
Gratitude washes over them like the incoming tide, and they humbly accept it. Some with smiles, some with tears.
Either way, they deserve every bit of it.
Photos. They really are worth 1,000 words.
I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying!
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