Southern Illinois community invited to welcome home 88 veterans
FOX23 News at 9 p.m.
MARION, Ill., (KBSI) — The Southern Illinois community is invited to honor 88 local veterans during the Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois Flight 17 Welcome Home Celebration.
The free, family-friendly event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, outside the airline terminal at Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois.
The veterans will spend the day visiting memorials and monuments in Washington before returning to Southern Illinois. Hundreds of community members are expected to welcome them home along the airport’s Freedom Path.
“The community support for the previous Honor Flight Welcome Home events has been overwhelming. There is no better way to celebrate our veterans and honor them than by giving them a hero’s welcome home,” Welcome Home organizer Deborah Hogg said.
The celebration will feature food trucks, live entertainment and children’s activities. Food service will begin at 5:30 p.m. and continue until all 88 veterans have passed through the Freedom Path.
Participating food vendors include Crazy Asian Eats, Southern Fixin’s, The Caribbean Hut, Big Nate’s BBQ, Deep South, TasTea Bowls & Treats, Kettle Corn by Bob McSpadden, HoneyBeez Snowballz and the American Ice Cream Truck. Each vendor has made a donation to Honor Flight.
Straight Street and Matt Basler will perform during the event. The formal welcome-home ceremony will begin at 9:45 p.m. and will be hosted by River Radio’s Steve Falat. Matt Throgmorton will perform the national anthem.
A children’s zone will feature inflatables, face painting and sign-making activities. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and patriotic signs or banners.
Airport parking will be limited. Organizers are encouraging attendees to use free park-and-ride services available at Sam’s Club and Cornerstone Church in Marion.
Buses will depart approximately every 20 minutes beginning at 5:30 p.m. Transportation will be provided by T-Street Rides, Shawnee Mass Transit, Jackson County Mass Transit and Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois.
More than 350 volunteers wearing bright orange lanyards will be stationed around the airport grounds and terminal lobby to assist visitors.
“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,” Welcome Home organizer Amanda Throgmorton said.
Veterans who participated in previous Honor Flights are encouraged to attend in their red shirts. They will receive VIP access to the celebration.
Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois is a nonprofit hub of the national Honor Flight Network. The volunteer-run organization covers the cost of airfare, ground transportation, meals and beverages for veterans participating in its one-day trips to Washington.
More information about applying as a veteran, guardian or volunteer is available at veteranshonorflight.org.
