Miami International (MIA) finished National Military Appreciation Month with the return of the airport’s first Honor Flight veterans.
Eastern Air Lines Flight 1941 took off early Saturday with 60 World War II and Korean War veterans on board. Upon arrival in Washington, D.C., they received tours of the war memorials and other military sites.
During the return flight, veterans also were given nearly 3,000 thank-you letters from airlines, federal agencies, airport tenants, local school children and civic organizations. The letters were gathered through a campaign led by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, with help from airport and community partners.
The Honor Flight concluded with a homecoming at MIA that was attended by more than 1,000 people. In additional to being MIA’s first Honor Flight, the event also was Eastern Air Lines’ first domestic passenger flight since its recent re-launch.
“We were extremely honored to host our first-ever Honor Flight at MIA, and we look forward to hosting additional flights in the future,” says Miami-Dade Aviation Director Emilio T. Gonzalez. “I can think of no better cause for the MIA community to rally around than to celebrate the men and women who fought for the freedoms we all enjoy today. They were truly The Greatest Generation, yet most of them never received a homecoming like the one they enjoyed today. We were proud to partner with Honor Flight South Florida and Eastern Air Lines to pay tribute to them as we conclude Military Appreciation Month.”
