Public invited to welcome veterans from honor flight in Marion, IL
MARION, Ill. (KBSI) – The public is invited to welcome home veterans from an honor flight on May 7.
A Welcome Home event will be held at the Veterans Airport in Marion to welcome home veterans from their day in Washington D.C.
Food service begins at 5 p.m. and lasts until all 87 veterans have passed through the Freedom Path through the Airport terminal.
The Welcome Home Ceremony will begin at 8:45 p.m.
“The community support for the previous Honor Flight Welcome Home events has been overwhelming!” said Deborah Hogg, Welcome Home organizer. “There is no better way to
celebrate our Veterans and honor them than by giving them a Hero’s welcome home.”
A 10-member Welcome Home Committee meets monthly to plan the event which is expected to unite the community in honoring veterans.
The Flight #12 Welcome Home Celebration will be held outside at the front airport entrance. Those attending are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.
Hogg says members of the community start arriving at the airport about 5 p.m. with banners and lawn chairs.
Several food trucks are scheduled to be there. Those include Cone to Table, Crazy Asian Eats, Honeybeez Snowballz, Flippin Crepe, Fry Guy, The Caribbean Hut, and Venezi Wood Pizza who have all made a donation to Honor Flight.
“And while the public is enjoying their dinner, they can also enjoy the local entertainment,” said Amanda Throgmorton of the Welcome Home Planning Committee. “The entertainment line-up for the evening includes Daniel Brothers Band and Whiskey and Rust The Welcome Home Ceremony will begin at 8:45pm with Emcee Steve Falat from River Radio and Matt Throgmorton from Byassee Music and Sound will be singing the National Anthem”
Limited parking is available on airport grounds. The general public is encouraged to use the transportation busses from off-site parking locations.
T-Street Rides, Shawnee Mass Transit District, Jackson County Mass Transit District and Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois will provide park and ride transportation services at no cost from locations including Sam’s Club and Cornerstone Church. Buses will depart from these off-site parking locations throughout the event, approximately every 20 minutes beginning at 5 p.m. to ensure everyone has easy access to the event.
The general public is encourged to bring Welcome Home banners and flags to the ceremony and wear patriotic attire.
If anyone has any questions or needs assistance when they arrive to the airport, they can ask any of the more than 350 volunteers stationed at various points throughout the airport grounds
and terminal lobby. All volunteers will wear bright orange lanyards.
“We hope everyone will come out to the Airport and help us welcome home our Veterans. We want the Veterans to witness a sea of red, white and blue when they depart the plane,” said
Hogg.
Veterans who have been on previous Honor Flights are also encouraged to come out in their red shirts. They will have VIP access at the Welcome Home Celebration.
All expenses for this one-day trip are covered by Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois including the flight, ground transportation, meals and beverages.
The trip is provided free of charge to the veterans.
Visit veteranshonorflight.org for more information.
