Miami-Dade County
MAY 29, 2015
A special military homecoming for South Florida’s WW II and Korean War vets
About 2,600 letters will be distributed to military veterans on their flight home from Washington, D.C. -- Miami-Dade Aviation Department
BY AUDRA D.S. BURCH
The South Florida community is invited to Miami International Airport on Saturday night to help welcome home dozens of World War II and Korean veterans after a daylong trip to Washington, D.C., to visit war memorials on the National Mall.
More than 60 veterans will fly on an Eastern Air Lines plane to Washington to tour the World War II memorial and others as part of the Honor Flight program. The non-profit group transports United States military veterans to the memorials in Washington at no cost to the veterans.
On the return flight, more than 2,600 personalized thank-you letters collected from MIA employees, elected officials, local students and civic organizations will be distributed to the veterans during a traditional “mail call” for deployed soldiers.
The Miami-Dade Aviation Department spearheaded the letter-writing campaign, partnering with airport and community groups. The Honor Flight event ends with an evening homecoming at the airport where thousands of well-wishers are expected.
Operation Homecoming will take place 8:15 p.m. on the second level of Concourse J at the South checkpoint. The public is asked to use public transportation and arrive early because of the large turnout expected. The event also marks Eastern Air Lines’ first domestic flight since its re-launch earlier this week.
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South Florida veterans travel to Washington DC for Honor Flight
Published On:May 30 2015 11:27:05 PM EDTUpdated On:May 30 2015 11:28:32 PM EDT
(click for video)
A group of South Florida veterans traveled to Washington D.C. for an honor flight dedicated to all their fallen comrades.
PHOTOS: Honor Flight to D.C. for fallen veterans|
63 WWII, Korean War vets receive hero's sendoff, tour DC
Posted:Jun 01, 2015 12:31 AM EDT
Updated:Jun 01, 2015 6:24 AM EDT
A veteran greets onlookers at Miami International Airport
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MIAMI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Fla. (WSVN) -- Sixty-three war veterans received a high honor prior to embarking on a trip to Washington, D.C. Saturday, as a newly relaunched airline traveled the extra mile during National Military Appreciation Month.
"Unbelievable, they outdid themselves," said veteran Victor Reab, mesmerized by the pageantry of uniformed service members and bagpipe players that greeted him and his fellow passengers at Miami International Airport.
The participants of this weekend's Honor Flight either fought in World War II or the Korean War, and they received a hero's greeting, send-off and welcome home upon their return. "It cannot be duplicated. It made my heart feel good, and all the fellas feel the same way," said Reab.
The group left South Florida Saturday morning for the nation's capital, where they toured the World War II Memorial and other military sites.
Forty-three of the volunteer guardians traveling with the veterans were Miami-Dade Fire Rescue firefighters. "Bless the firemen and every single one of the people that took care of us," said Reab.
The veterans were saluted at every leg of their journey. After returning to Miami, they were greeted by a jubilant receiving line comprised of local and federal honor guards, airport employees, passengers and thousands of well-wishers from the community, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).
This was Eastern Airlines' first domestic passenger flight since its relaunch earlier this year, one that helped cap off and recognize National Military Appreciation Month, along with Honor Flight South Florida and MIA. "Seeing all the veterans there and being honored like they did, and coming home and finding all the people here, was a great day," said a veteran.
The veterans' departing flight number was 1941, named after the first year of World War II, and their return flight number was 1945, the year the war ended.
Miami-Dade County
MAY 30, 2015
One last mission from South Florida: a visit to Washington memorials for the greatest generation
Marine Corps / Air Corps veteran Conni Gordon, of Miami, is accompanied through the National World War II Memorial Saturday, May 30, 2015, in Washington. South Florida veterans toured Washington memorials as part of the the first Honor Flight to depart from Miami. Honor Flight is a national nonprofit that sponsors free visits to Washington war memorials for aging veterans.|
Jessica KoscielniakMcClatchy
BY AUDRA D.S. BURCH
On a spring day that felt more like the thick quilt of summer, Michael Calicchio was in a wheelchair, slowly approaching the World War II memorial, a majestic statement of gratitude for the service of the greatest generation.
A Merchant Marine who went to war as a teenager, the 90-year-old wore dark brown suit slacks with black lace-up, hard-bottom shoes because this moment, this final act of paying respect, demanded the dignity of formal attire.
“No dungarees,” he had insisted to a nurse the day before this journey to Washington, D.C.
Slowed by the march of time and now aided by wheelchairs and canes, a group of 65 local World War II and Korean War veterans visited the memorials that mark their military service on Saturday as part of the Honor Flight South Florida, one of the “hubs’’ of a national network offering all-expense-paid trips for veterans to the nation’s capital.
“The war was very, very bad. A lot of people died, but we ended up freeing the world,” said Calicchio who retired as a captain at age 65 and now lives in Key Largo. “All the people who died, they are the real heroes.”
The last mission, as Honor Flight calls it, allows those who served to visit the memorials — many for the first time.
“The WWII monuments is only about 11 years old. You have 16 million who served,” said Rick Asper, Honor Flight South Florida chairman. “A huge percentage have never seen it and gotten the special thank you that they deserve.”
All in their late 80s and 90s, the veterans came from as far as Boca Raton and the Florida Keys, some rising three hours before sunrise to travel to Miami International Airport. They boarded Eastern Air Lines’ Flight 1941, two-fold in symbolism. The trip marked the first domestic flight of the newly re-launched airline and the flight number denotes the beginning of WWII. The veterans returned on Flight 1945, the last year of the war.
The tour included stops at the Iwo Jima Memorial, formally known as the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, along with Arlington National Cemetery, the World War II Memorial and the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
After watching the ritual of the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Joseph Newton, 91, sat on a nearby bench describing his family’s military history. Newton had three brothers — all were in the military, with the youngest boy killed in an Air Force plane crash. Newton, a WWII Army veteran, fought in France and Germany.
He came on the trip because he wanted to see history up close. It was the first time he had been apart from his wife in another city since their marriage on Christmas Day, 1950.
“It feels good to be thanked for my service,” said the Fort Lauderdale veteran.
The Honor Flight program began in Springfield, Ohio, 10 years ago by Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant and retired Air Force captain who wanted to bring as many WWII veterans as possible to see their memorial while they are physically able. Honor Flight has since expanded to other communities, called hubs. There are now 130 hubs, including several in Florida.
The program is mostly for WWII veterans but some hubs accept Korean War veterans, particularly those who may not be able to wait for future trips. There are about 1.5 million surviving WWII — about 95,000 in Florida, one of the nation’s largest veteran populations. All octogenarians or nonagenerians, the group is dying at an estimated rate of more than 400 a day, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
More than 16 million men and women, many of them still teenagers, served in the war that helped to shape contemporary American life. More than 400,000 died on six of the seven continents.
Every WWII veteran has a war story, some that have faded with time, others that have stood strong against the decades. Most every veteran lost a buddy, dark memories that came trickling or rushing back as the group stood before WWII memorial Saturday.
Calicchio sat in his wheelchair listening to his guardian for the day, Valerie Mazon, recite the numbers: 405,399 dead, second only to the losses of the Civil War.
Back before the war, he said had planned to go to college, but his father’s appendix burst and much of the money went to his care. So Calicchio enlisted in the military. He remembers those first years after the war. He visited his high school in Boston and saw a bulletin board. It was plastered with name after name after name — his friends, fellow students, members of the class of 1941, that never made it back.
Mazon, a nurse at a VA clinic in Key Largo, pointed to the rows of gold stars on the Freedom Wall, each representing the death of 100 soldiers.
“This gives me shivers,” Calicchio said softly. “That is a lot of death.”
The idea for the South Florida hub for the Honor Flight program was born at Arlington National Cemetery in the most solemn of moments, as a U.S. Army veteran visited the graves of fallen comrades.
That veteran, Asper, watched with curiosity as dozens of aging military men and women arrived at the cemetery.
“Here were these buses. They pulled up right in front of me and all these older WWII veterans, were getting off. Someone asked me if I was a volunteer for Honor Flight,” Asper said. “It was the first time I had heard of it. He told me everything about it and asked if I wanted to get involved.”
Asper was not alone. Other veterans have come across the program, too. Honor Flight South Florida hub was launched two years ago with about a core group of about 10 volunteers.
So far, the program has hosted six trips including the one on Saturday which was the first out of Miami. More trips are planned for the fall — the temperatures are too high or too low in the summer and winter seasons for the veterans to be outside for long periods of time. Each trip costs $40,000 to $80,000 but is always free to the veterans.
Despite differences in stories, ages, military branches or wars, there are common threads. The trips all trigger memories. Augustine Fernandez, 92, an Air Force veteran from Pinecrest, was reminded of the 16 months he spent as a prisoner of war after his plane was shot down. Michael Cafiero, 89, a Navy veteran from Hollywood, remembers his time aboard the USS Randolph in the South Pacific.
“There’s always a lot of emotion. By and large, this group has not really expressed themselves. They have not talked about the war. Those memories are 60 and 70 years old, buried deep in their heart and soul. On these trips, they do begin to share and talk about those experiences, and in some ways it is cathartic,” Asper said. “The other thing they show is gratitude.’’
The daughter of show business parents, Conni Gordon, 91, seemed born to be on stage. Instead, she became a U.S. Marine, signing the papers just after her 20thbirthday.
“I am third-generation military. My grandfather and father were in the Army. I always wanted to serve my country and I always wanted to be a Marine,” said Gordon, one of four women who went on the trip. “I always had this deep appreciation for what it meant to be an American and what it meant to serve my country.”
During the flight home, a “mail call” was to be held — a tradition when veterans received letters from home while serving overseas. MIA employees, local students, even elected officials wrote about 2,600 letters that were distributed to the veterans.
Arriving in Miami on Saturday night, the veterans returned to an authentic homecoming, the kind most never received as young soldiers. There were well-wishers, lots of red, white and blue, a roar of applause and handshakes.
The universal message: Thank you.
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Nonprofit Takes South Florida Vets To DC War Memorials
ByEBONY JOSEPH
The first Miami Honor Flight will take veterans to see war memorials in Washington, D.C., Saturday, May 30, 2015.
Credit Maryland GovPics /
More than 60 local veterans will head to Washington, D.C., Saturday to celebrate the end of Military Appreciation Month. The trip is sponsored byHonor Flight, a nonprofit that organizes trips to the nation’s capital for veterans of the Korean and Second World wars.
The event will be a day of firsts. For many vets, it will be the first time seeing the memorials that pay tribute to their service. Joe Napoli, chief of staff at Miami International Airport, says this will be the first time an honor flight will go out of Miami.
“What’s historic about it is not just that we’re doing it here at Miami International but also that Eastern Airlines, that has recently been brought back, will be flying them,” says Napoli.
The airline was out of business for more than 20 years after filing for bankruptcy in 1989. Miami Honor will be its first flight as a revamped company with headquarters in MIA.
The veterans are scheduled to leave Miami at 6:30 a.m., and they'll be back by the end of the day. Their flight numbers will coincide with the start and end of the war, 1941 and 1945, and on the way home the vets will relive the tradition of mail calls.
“When mail would arrive they would call out each person’s name and deliver the mail that was for them from family and friends," says Napoli. "We undertook a letter-writing campaign... and we’ve collected over 2,700 letters for the veterans. Nothing like this has ever been done before for the Honor Flight and they are very appreciative of it."
A veterans homecoming celebration will be held at the airport Saturday at 8:15 p.m.Attendees are encouraged to use public transportation to avoid traffic and parking issues.
MIA Hosts Honor Flight For World War II, Korean War Veterans
Published on : Friday, May 29, 2015
Miami International Airport, in partnership with Honor Flight South Florida and Eastern Air Lines, will cap off National Military Appreciation Month by hosting its first-ever Honor Flight for more than 60 World War II and Korean War veterans this Saturday. After departing MIA Saturday morning on Eastern Air Lines flight #1941 (named after the first year of World War II), the 60 living legends will receive tours of the World War II memorial and other military sites in the nation’s capital – many for the first time in their lives.
On the return trip aboard flight #1945 (the last year of the war), more than 2,000 personalized thank-you letters collected at MIA from airlines, federal agencies and other airport tenants, as well as from local school children and civic organizations, will be distributed to the veterans during a traditional “mail call” for deployed soldiers.
The Miami-Dade Aviation Department spearheaded the letter-writing campaign and gained support from more than a dozen airport and community partners. The Honor Flight event will culminate with a homecoming at MIA, where the public is invited to take part in a massive receiving line that is expected to include local and federal honor guards, airport employees, passengers and thousands of well-wishers from the community. The event also marks Eastern’s first domestic passenger flight since its re-launch this year.