SALT LAKE CITY — A group of Utah military veterans boarded a charter plane bound for Washington D.C. on an honor flight on Tuesday morning.
In total, 74 veterans were on the flight. Most of them are from the Vietnam era, but also the Korean conflict and World War II.
The whirlwind trip headed to our nation's capitol to honor their service to our country.
The veterans are each accompanied by a guardian and combined with the local organizers, nearly 170 people will be on board honor flight number 41.
That includes two sets of brothers from northern Utah, the Wesley‘s and the Zundel‘s, all of whom have known each other for more than half a century and all of home served during the Vietnam war.
“Like we all know when we came back from Vietnam, we weren’t really welcomed," explained Louis Zundel. "I landed here at the Salt Lake airport and there was a protest going on, it was ugly and I just escaped through the crowd and got home. Fast forward, half a lifetime and here we are with this hero’s sendoff. It’s amazing and I love it! Appreciate it very much.”
The flight lands in Baltimore then a charter bus will take the group to a multitude of locations in the Washington DC area.
There will also be a banquet Tuesday night and some more sightseeing Wednesday before they land back in Salt Lake City.
