Villages Honor Flight will transport its oldest veteran this week to see the war memorials in Washington D.C.
Ninety-nine-year-old Alvin Hersey of The Villages will fly Wednesday along with 34 other veterans on Villages Honor Flight.
Hersey was born in 1916 and served in the Army during World War II. He spent some time in Stalag 5 as a prisoner of war.
His guardian on the trip will be his son-in-law, Harold Bartley, also of The Villages.
This Honor Flight will include veterans of World War II and Korea.
“The sacrifices made by these and other vets have safeguarded the liberties we enjoy today. We are honored that we can provide this trip and thank them for their valiant and unselfish service,” said flight director Joe Hambright.
This flight represents a big change in the makeup of the participating veterans, who, for the first time are made up of about 60 percent Korean War veterans and the remainder from WWII. This is the last Honor Flight of the year. Flights will resume in late March 2016.
The community is encouraged to honor these heroes when they return from this one day trip at a homecoming ceremony at American Legion Post 347. Live entertainment, which precedes their return, will begin at 10:30 p.m., with the buses bringing them from the Orlando airport scheduled to arrive about 12:20 a.m. Attendees are asked to bring a chair, an American flag, and friends to this rain-or-shine event.
Villages Honor Flight is a hub of the National Honor flight Network, a non-profit organization created solely to honor America’s veterans for their service and sacrifices. Veterans are flown, without expense to them, to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials established in their honor and to visit Arlington National Cemetery to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. Each veteran is accompanied on the flight by a personal guardian to assist them, with guardians paying all of their own expenses.
Villages Honor Flight serves veterans in Lake, Sumter, Marion, Hernando and Citrus Counties. At the conclusion of this flight, almost 600 veterans will have flown on a Villages Honor Flight. Any WWll or Korean War veteran who has not been on an Honor Flight is encouraged to submit an application, which may be obtained from www.VillagesHonorFlight.org or by phoning (352) 432-1382 and requesting that one be mailed.
