Honor Flight was a great honor

This is a note of appreciation to our leaders and our families for a great honor bestowed on us old military veterans - the Honor Flight on May 21 that took a planeload of us to visit the many wonderful memorials in Washington D.C. We were impressed beyond words by everything we saw. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, for example, with its huge slabs of polished granite inscribed with the thousands of names of these heroes was an impressive sight. And at Arlington National Cemetery, where acres of gravesites all with white crosses to remember veterans from so many wars. It would take hours to cover all of the areas of this cemetery.

When we returned to Cedar Rapids that night, we were not prepared for the great reception from our families and friends at the airport. They all wanted hugs and handshakes and they treated us like celebrities. We could not believe this show of adoration for these old soldiers, Navy and Marine veterans, and Air Force and Coast Guard veterans, too. We sure appreciated the honor they bestowed on us. Most of us old veterans are in our 80s and 90s now and yes, most of us had tears in our eyes. This special reception was very much needed.

Thank you fellow Americans for this wonderful trip on the Honor Flight and for your appreciation as well. God bless all of you.

Fred Fredericks

U.S. Army veteran

Belle Plaine