Tucson News NowWW II veterans reunite after trip to see their memorial

A race against time.

We lose 900 World War II veterans every day.

Honor Flight is rushing to send as many of them as possible to Washington D. C. to see the memorial dedicated to them.

Several southern Arizona veterans attended an Honor Flight reunion Friday at the Pima Air & Space Museum.

They the veterans now have, what for most them, will be a once in a lifetime experience, seeing the memorial dedicated to them.

They are in their 90's, and older.  

They are known as the greatest generation.

What they did changed the world.

Now, thanks to Honor Flight, they have seen and touched the memorial they inspired.

 "It blows you away, I tell you. It's such a beautiful memorial. And you walking around through it and you just get the feeling from all the guys that went, said World War II U.S. Army veteran George McGee.

There's such a joy in celebration.

81 southern Arizona men and women who served and who were guests of Honor Flight in Washington D. C. were at the reunion.

This time, memories are fresh of their journey to the nation's capital.

"I thought that it's astonishing to, after all these years, be honored in such a way," said former WAAC and WAC Martha Montevallo.@

Astonishing to think that some of these veterans waited a very long time to know how much people still do care.

"My first indication was when we got off the plane, and there was this crowd to greet us and they were very enthusiastic about it. That was the first time I'd ever gone through anything like that," said World War II U.S. Army veteran Harvey Legg.

There's a legacy of patriotism and of gratitude passed from generation to generation.

"I think it's important that we don't lose the connection and we don't lose what they sacrificed for. We wouldn't have what we have if it wasn't for them," said U.S. Air Force SMSgt Hector Herrera.

This is the story of their lives.

"I could talk about Vietnam. I could talk about Korea, but World War II was a sort of special thing. I married 'Mama' during World War II. We've been married 47...um 67 years," said World War II U.S. Navy veteran Robert Bright, as his wife came over to give him a kiss.

An organizer says Honor Flight is a mission that is timeline critical.

Its goal is to fly as many World War II veterans as possible to see their memorial before time runs out.

Honor Flight also will fly veterans of other wars to see their memorials as time goes by.  

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