MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport was filled Saturday with loved ones camping out with signs, balloons, and decorative t-shirts as they welcomed home a group of local veterans.
In total, 115 local veterans from 19 Wisconsin counties traveled to Washington D.C. Saturday morning with their guardians to tour several memorials.
This Star and Stripes Honor Flight was special. The organization honored its 10,000th veteran.
The 10,000th veteran, Del Stubbs, is a Vietnam army infantry veteran who spent a year and a half in Germany.
“He’s a Vietnam vet so he never got a welcome home,” Jeremy Anderson, his stepson, said.
The special honor was in part, luck. His application happened to be the 10,000th that the organization received.
“All my granddaughter said was ‘Del Stubbs is here’ and a lady came out with signs,” Jan Stubbs, his wife, smiled. “His eyeballs just popped out of his face. He had a blast this morning.”
Two Southwest Airlines planes, an “alpha” and a “bravo”, left Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport early Saturday morning.
The veterans and their guardians then arrived in Washington D.C. where they toured the WWII Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall, and more.
The day also included a stop to see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
107 veterans in the group are of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era, seven are Korean War veterans, and one is a 98-year-old WWII veteran.
This group was welcomed home with a special parade, including entertainment from the Kettle Moraine High School Marching Band and the New Berlin Eisenhower Cheer Team.
“I’m here to welcome my husband home. I’m expecting to see him run down the aisle here smiling,” Lenora Mulock, the wife of veteran Pete Mulock, cheered. As he made his way off the flight, he greeted his wife with a big kiss.
Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, an all-volunteer organization, has flown veterans to Washington DC since 2008.
Nationally, hubs in the Honor Flight network have taken more than 250,000 veterans to see their memorials.
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