For Immediate Release
Honor Flight Rochester, Inc.
A “hub” in the national P.O. Box 23581
Honor Flight Network Rochester, NY 14692
Honor Flight Rochester Welcomes Home WWII, Korean War Vets Sunday
Mission 36 is Final Flight of the 2014 Spring Flying Season.
June is a historic month for veterans of World War II with the recently observed 70th anniversary of the Normandy invasion (June 6, 1944) and it was 64 years ago in June 1950 that the Korean War began and U.S. troops stepped in to halt the communist aggression and preserve the Republic of South Korea.
This Sunday, June 29, Honor Flight Rochester will welcome home Mission 36 filled with veterans who served during World War II and the Korean War (1950-1953). Of those veterans, 13 served during World War II, 32 in the Korean War and one veteran served in both conflicts. The 46 men on Mission 36 served their country in the U.S. Army (23), U.S. Navy (11), U.S. Army Air Corps (4), U.S. Air Force (6), and U.S. Marines (2). The U.S. Army Air Corps was the military aviation arm of the Army during and immediately after WWII. The U.S. Air Force was established as a separate military branch in September 1947.
The Korean War started on June 25, 1950 when North Korea invaded South Korea. United States troops, as part of a United Nations force, aided South Korea. The war lasted until an armistice was signed on July 27, 1953. About 1.7 million Americans served during the Korean War. The U.S. casualties were 54,246 killed, 103,284 wounded, 7,140 captured and 8,177 reported as missing. The mantra of the Korean War is “Freedom Is Not Free.”
Mission 36 is the final flight of the spring flying season. Honor Flight Rochester missions will start again with three missions in the fall: Mission 37 Sept. 6 – 7; Mission 38 Sept. 27 - 28 and Mission 39 Oct. 18 – 19.
DATE: Sunday, June 29, 2014.
WELCOME CELEBRATION - Approximately between 12 noon and 12:15 p.m.
FLIGHT: Southwest Airlines Flight #514.
SCHEDULE FLIGHT ARRIVAL TIME: 11:20 a.m. (Sunday, June, 29 2014).
Please note: It takes 30-45 minutes to help the veterans disembark.
WHERE: Greater Rochester International Airport.
RECEPTION: A public welcome home reception follows immediately in the 1st floor at the International Room beneath Concourse A.
EMCEE: Don Alhart, 13WHAM-TV.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks.
COLOR GUARD: Navy Reserve Sailors Color Guard, Chief Petty Officer Chris Flores.
MUSIC: Fairport Fire Department Band.
HONOR GUARD: Patriot Guard Riders.
DEPARTURE: Saturday, June 28, 2014 – Honor Flight Rochester Mission 35 departs Greater Rochester International Airport at 6:30 a.m. The veterans and their guardians begin arriving at 4 a.m.
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Honor Flight Rochester. Please Join Us – Generously. All THEY did… was save the world!
Honor Flight Rochester (www.honorflightrochester.org) – one of 100 established hubs in the national Honor Flight Network – is a not-for-profit, fully-volunteer organization with a goal of taking every World War II, Korean War, or Vietnam veteran who otherwise would or could not go, to visit and reflect together at Washington D.C. Memorials built in their honor. The two-day trip is free to all World War II, Korean or Vietnam veterans and to veterans of any era who suffer a terminal illness. Rochester’s flying season is April to October. To date, 1,628 veterans have now flown from Rochester since the local organization began full scale flights in early 2009.
Media Contact:
Rick Meier
585.315.0564.
visit us at www.HonorFlightRochester.org
June 26, 2014