GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – For another year, the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will partner with the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers, and Milwaukee Bucks to sponsor the Flight of Champions on Saturday, Oct. 5.
“Three chartered aircrafts with 180 of our oldest local veterans aboard will experience a full day of honor and gratitude as they tour the memorials in Washington D.C. and then come home to the welcome home that most of them did not receive,” explained Stars and Stripes Honor Flight President Karyn Roelke.
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Two planes will depart from Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport around 7 a.m. on Oct. 5, while a third plane will depart from Green Bay Austin-Straubel International Airport.
Packers President Mark Murphy said he’s excited to have the organization, along with the Bucks and the Brewers, support the Honor Flight for another year.
“It’s bigger than ourselves, and to give thanks to these veterans that never really got it means an awful lot, and to see the looks on their faces when they return, it’s pretty special,” he stated.
Leon Stein is a Vietnam Army Veteran and was one of many veterans who participated in the 2023 Flight of Champions.
“It’s the most powerful, most emotional, and most healing thing I’ve ever done,” said Stein. “The beauty of this flight is, in the end, veterans once again can be proud to be veterans, and that’s really what it’s all about.”
David Termaat, who served in the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1970, said his daughter came along as his guardian, and it was a special experience for them to visit the monuments in Washington, D.C., together.
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“Visiting Arlington Cemetery and seeing the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, that was very special to me,” said Termaat. “They have some great explanations of things that we had questions about, and being able to take it all in, I can’t really put enough words into it.”
All three Honor Flights will return around 9:15 p.m. on Oct. 5, but organizers ask that community members who can welcome them home begin gathering around 7 p.m.
