UPPER PENINSULA, Mich. (WJMN) – September 18, 2019 was the last time Upper Peninsula Honor Flight was able to take veterans to Washington, D.C. for one day for free to see the monuments in their honor. The coronavirus pandemic put a halt on that for honor flights across country until recently. On Wednesday, May 25, the U.P. Honor Flight will be doing it’s first mission since that halt. This will be the 18th mission since it began.
“Washington, D.C. I’ve never been there before,” said Jim Streeter. “It will be quite an experience.”
“I’ve never been to Washington before I’d like to see everything I can see,” said Blaine Marceau.
“I’ve been to D.C.,” said Neil Brown. “I’ve seen some of the things that we’re seeing but I haven’t seen them all.”
“My son is going with me,” said Richard Harvey.
“Every one of them has a story to tell,” said James St. Peter.
Jim Streeter, Blaine Marceau, Neil Brown, Richard Harvey and James St. Peter are all residents of D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans and they are five of the 85 veterans that will be aboard U.P. Honor Flight Mission XVIII.
James St. Peter, Jim Streeter and Blaine Marceau in the service
“This Honor Flight is pretty rewarding,” said Shari Smith, Activities Manager, D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans. “We have Vietnam Veterans going this time and honoring them with the privilege of the tours of Washington are pretty amazing. The comradery of the community, I haven’t experienced this, I’ve only seen it on TV but coming together to honor them when they come home, the honor that most of them did not get when they were in Vietnam is hopefully something that we can give back to them.”
If you would like to welcome the veterans home and thank them for their service, you can do so by coming to the Delta County Airport on Wednesday, May 25. The doors open at 7:00 p.m. and veterans are scheduled to land at 8:30 p.m.
