Local residents will have the opportunity to honor 14 veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam who are participating in a Flightless Honor Flight Saturday, June 23.
The veterans include seven from the Army, four from the Navy, two from the Air Force and one Marine.
The traditional Welcome Home Celebration at American Legion Post 347 on Rolling Acres Road will begin at 2:30 p.m. Entertainment for the homecoming crowd will begin at 1 p.m. and will include the Village Cheerleaders, The Villages Twirlers and Drum Corps, Clown Alley 179 and Ralph DiNome and his Flashback band. The public is invited to participate in the Welcome Home Celebration and is encouraged to bring a lawn chair and American flag.
Villages Honor Flight’s Flightless program began in September 2014. It’s designed to give veterans who are unable to participate in a regular flight to Washington, D.C. – usually due to mobility issues – the opportunity to share in the experience.
The Flightless program, through video technology and a little magic, recreates the entire experience of a normal mission except for the actual flight to D.C. and back. Each veteran will have a dedicated guardian, a pre-flight meeting to get the participants together for an orientation and some socialization, a special flight shirt and a squad-oriented social event.
Villages Honor Flight serves veterans from the Central Florida counties of Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter.