Political Quotes

“Mr. President, the last point I wish to make before turning to the Senator from Oklahoma is something that we call Honor Flights. One of the great things that have come out of the National World War II Memorial is that men and women who have served in World War II are now getting the opportunity to go to visit this National World War II Memorial. Retired Air Force Capt. Earl Morse, who worked in a VA clinic in Springfield, OH, would often talk with his World War II veteran patriots. He realized that for most of these veterans, their dream of seeing the memorial built on the National Mall would never come true. So one day in 2004, Captain Morse, a pilot and a member of the air club at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, asked one of his patients if he could personally fly him to Washington free of charge. The veteran, Mr. Loy, broke down in tears and accepted Earl's offer. Soon Earl was offering to fly other World War II veterans to visit the memorial and soliciting help from other pilots. Eleven pilots from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base volunteered. In May 2005, the first Honor Flight took off from Springfield, OH. A decade later, the Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit that has flown 100,000 veterans, usually 40 or 50 or 60 at a time in a charter flight--always with a caretaker because these veterans are never young. They are World War II veterans. They have been out of the service now for 70 years at least. The Honor Flight Program is in 41 States.…”