Last September, Operation Honor flew more than 160 veterans to Washington, D.C. on two Air Force Reserve C-17 Globemasters from Wright-Patterson for a one-day trip to Washington, D.C., where the group visited war memorials, getting the kind of reception Honor Flight Network organizers always try to give veterans on similar trips.
The event required the logistical support and contributions of dozens of partners and allies.
Employees of Fairborn and the Fairborn school district played big roles in transporting Operation Honor well-wishers from and back to parking lots at the Skyway Shopping Plaza before and after an afternoon concert in a 445th C-17 hangar on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
The concert and the crowd there welcomed veterans returning to Wright-Patterson from the trip to D.C.
After the concert, the buses took visitors back to the parking area in Fairborn. Some of the drivers weren’t finished until after midnight Monday morning — just a few hours before their schools shifts were to begin.
“It was a huge job,” Kirkpatrick said in an interview. “The schools really stepped up to the plate. I met with the bus drivers a couple of days later. They were absolutely thrilled to be a part of it.”
The city itself coordinated police, fire and traffic services, he said.
“We were all involved on the team who put the whole program together,” the mayor said.
Wing representatives declined to say who else would be recognized at the banquet at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, saying they wanted to ensure that those who are honored will be surprised.
But Kirkpatrick, himself a veteran, said the event was “truly a community effort between the 445th, the city of Fairborn, the schools.”
“I know how big a deal the Honor Flight is, especially for the veterans like myself who got to go,” he said.
Kirkpatrick said city officials met with Operation Honor and Honor Flight representatives multiple times “figuring out what role the city can play,” he added.
“The base played the biggest role providing the aircraft,” the mayor added.
Honor Flight organizations in Dayton and beyond are non-profit efforts to fly veterans, at no cost them, to the nation’s capital to see the memorials that honor their service and sacrifice.
“The veterans, when they came back, they were just absolutely thrilled with the whole thing,” the mayor said.
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