When the HonorAir flight lands tonight, the organization will have successfully completed 18 flights taking over 2,300 East Tennessee World War II and Korean War veterans to Washington, D.C. to see the memorials built to honor their sacrifices. Around 125 veterans are on today's flight.
The veterans were greeted and escorted by Boy Scouts as they entered McGhee Tyson Airport. After checking in with their Guardian and other team members, each veteran walked through a special Honor Guard, had a team photo taken and then received a special send-off at the airport from Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett and Blount County Mayor Ed Mitchell.
The flight will return this evening and the public is encouraged to welcome the returning veterans at McGhee Tyson Airport at 8 p.m. Arrive early!
If you want to see what's going on during their trip today, check out
Twitter.com/HonorAir and
Facebook.com/HonorAir.
SMOKY MOUNTAIN AIR SHOW
Smoky Mountain Air Show Also announced at today's HonorAir flight sendoff: The 2016 Smoky Mountain Air Show at McGhee Tyson Airport will be supporting the great work being done by HonorAir to salute our military veterans. The April 16-17, 2016, show will be headlined by the Navy's premier Blue Angels. HonorAir on Wednesday was designated as the show's community partner and will benefit from a portion of the air show's revenues. For more information about the show please visit
SmokyMountainAirShow.com
ABOUT HONORAIR FLIGHTS
The one-day, all expense paid trip via a US Airways chartered flight includes tours of the World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, Marine and Air Force Memorials.
Veterans interested in applying for a flight can print the application available at
www.honorairknoxville.com or call 865-938-7701 and request an application be mailed to them.
HonorAir is a 501 (c)(3) organization so all donations are tax deductible. Each HonorAir flight costs about $60,000. Anyone wishing to support the program should send checks to HonorAir Knoxville, 7536 Taggart Lane, Knoxville, TN 37938. Donations can also be made via PayPal on the HonorAir Knoxville website at
www.honorairknoxville.com.
HonorAir Knoxville is a program established and presented by Prestige Cleaners to honor veterans. Covenant Health has been a major sponsor of each of the flights taken to date.