Fifteen veterans returned to Bedford, Virginia, after visiting Washington, DC, through the Honor Flight program this past weekend. But for one Vietnam War veteran on the trip, it was extra significant.
In 1968, David Wright enlisted in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Vietnam in 1968 before returning home the following year, WDBJ reported. He then went back to Vietnam in 1970 but recalled never feeling appreciated upon returning home.
“Well, we never had a welcome home. And that’s one thing I’ve been wanting ever since I got here,” Wright told WDBJ.
Despite the hundreds of thousands of brave Americans who served in Vietnam, many who returned home did not receive as warm of a welcome as their forefathers did when they returned from World War II or the Korean War.
However, Wright’s trip through the Central and Southwest Virginia Hour Flight Network hub helped finally give him the special welcome home he had never received over 50 years ago.
“This trip is like my passport here, I’ve had it stamped everywhere I’ve been,” Wright said.
“My director said he thought it was a passport, like a Christmas present, that never reached home,” said Wright. “I am a soldier. I reached home today. This trip has made me come home,” he added.
The Honor Flight program provides veterans from World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War the opportunity to tour D.C. and visit the various memorials dedicated to those who served and sacrificed for the nation, according to the nonprofit network’s website. The program also provides trips to veterans of recent service eras in “special cases of a terminal illness or injury.”
Those who wish to learn more about the Honor Flight Network or how they can sponsor a veteran can do so by visiting their website.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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