Twenty-nine area military veterans are gearing up for a special day they won’t soon forget.
That’s because the group, whose members served during World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the 1950s, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Berlin Crisis and other periods of service, will be participating in a Flightless Honor Flight on Saturday, Nov. 23.
Thirteen of the veterans served in the Army, 10 in the Navy, five in the Air Force and one in the Marine Corps. They are coming from Lady Lake, Leesburg, Ocala, Summerfield, The Villages and Wildwood.
Area residents are invited to participate in the traditional Welcome Home Ceremony at the American Legion Post off Rolling Acres Road, which will begin at 2:45 p.m. Entertainment for the homecoming crowd will start at 1 p.m. and will include The Villages Twirlers and Drums Corps, The Villages Cheerleaders and Ralph DiNome and his Flashback band. Those attending are encouraged to bring a lawn chair and American Flag.
Villages Honor Flight’s Flightless program started in September 2014 to give veterans who are unable to participate in a regular flight to Washington, D.C., the opportunity to share the experience. The Flightless program, through video technology and creative effort, recreates the entire experience of a normal mission except for the actual flight to Washington, D.C. and back.
Each veteran will have a dedicated guardian, a preflight meeting to get the mission participants together for an orientation and some socialization, a special flight shirt and a squad-oriented social event.
Villages Honor Flight serves veterans in Citrus, Lake, Marion, Putnam and Sumter Counties. The organization has flown more than 1,400 veterans since its first flight in May 2012.
For further information, veteran, guardian and volunteer applications, go to www.villageshonorflight.org.
