By Mike Brunstad
WOW! I had an awesome trip on the Puget Sound Honor Flight (PSHF) in late April 2022. The whole trip was amazing, from the time I arrived at SeaTac on April 23 to arriving back at SeaTac the night of April 25.
I learned the mission for the Puget Sound Honor Flight is simple: to honor American veterans by inviting veterans to Washington, D.C. for two days to view our nation’s memorials. The whole trip is FREE to the veteran. Each veteran is assisted by a Guardian. I meet my assistant Guardian for the first time at SeaTac. My Guardian did call me before the flight to introduce herself. You can have your own Guardian travel with you. The cost of having your own Guardian to travel with you is a $1,000 donation, which is tax deductible.
There were three WWII veterans, 11 Korean veterans, and 37 Vietnam veterans on my trip, plus Guardians for each veteran and Puget Sound Honor Flight staff and Board Members.
The first day (Saturday) was a travel day. I felt honored and truly unworthy from the time I arrived at SeaTac until we returned to SeaTac. The arrival at Baltimore was a huge surprise and an unbelievable experience. A memory I will not forget. I have to admit the whole mission put together by PSHF was outstanding.
Day 2 started with a very good breakfast at the hotel. Each veteran was given an Honor Flight T-Shirt (red). We boarded our buses at 8 a.m. for a full day in D.C. We visited the following memorials with a lot of time at each stop:
- World War II Memorial
- Lincoln Memorial
- Korean Memorial
- Vietnam Memorial (we had a boxed lunch before getting back on the bus)
- FDR Memorial
- Navy Memorial
We then returned to the hotel and had another banquet Sunday night.
Day 3 started just like Day 2, good breakfast at the hotel then we boarded our buses at 8 a.m. for a full day in D.C. We visited the following memorials:
- Arlington National Cemetery
- Changing of the Guard
- Marine Corps Memorial
- Air Force Memorial
We had a box lunch before getting back on the buses for our trip to the Baltimore Airport.
When we arrived back at SeaTac, it seemed like the whole airport knew that we had arrived HOME. It was just an AWESOME experience. After a few days I have been able to bring closure to a few outstanding items from my past. All I can say is THANK YOU to PSHF.
If you’re interested in signing up for the Puget Sound Honor Flight or would like to donate, go to pugetsoundhonorflight.org.
