APPLETON, Wis. — A first-of-its-kind Honor Flight returned to Appleton Sunday.
A crowd gathered at the Appleton Airport to welcome post-9/11 veterans and thank them for their service.
Over the years, Honor Flights have taken hundreds of veterans to Washington, D.C. to tour war memorials to honor their service. This time, veterans flew to New York to visit several Sept. 11 memorials.
This is the first Old Glory Honor Flight for Sept. 11 veterans.
Fifty-eight veterans disembarked from an Allegiant airplane in Appleton to lots of cheers and welcome home signs, after spending three days in New York. Josh McFaul was one veteran on board this flight and said he had a hard time containing his emotions.
“To hold the tears back and, and just realize that our community is really here to support us,” McFaul said. “It meant a lot.”
McFaul was part of this New York honor flight called the Freedom to Liberty Tour, a mission of healing meant to honor those who served in the war on terror.
“Seeing what New York has done in 22 years there,” McFaul said. “It really hit home to see why I did what I did.”
McFaul joined the Army in 1997 and said his last memory of New York was three months after the attacks.
“The last time I saw Ground Zero was in December of 2001, on my way to Afghanistan, and we got to fly over Ground Zero, and look out the window of the aircraft, and be told this is why you’re going to do it,” McFaul said.
While in New York, this group visited the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty.
Josh said what sticks with him the most about this trip, listening to the experiences of the firefighters and police officers at ground zero on Sept. 11.
“They were the survivors who were trapped under the rubble for 15 hours,” McFaul said.
Lorraine Vankampen was also on this trip. She’s a board member of the Old Glory Honor Flight and said this trip brought recovery and comfort to veterans.
“This was a mission of healing, hopefully to bring some closure, some resolve some peace of mind, in their heart in their souls and to be able to share their experiences and their stories going forward,” VanKampen said.
This flight is personal for VanKampen because her son is McFaul and after this trip, she said she’s gained a whole new family.
“Every one of the veterans became my son or daughter on this flight and it was just amazing,” VanKampen said.
She also said another honor flight for Sept. 11 veterans has to happen in the future because this country will never forget their sacrifice.