Health & Fitness
Shepard JROTC volunteers at Honor Flight Chicago
Shepard JROTC students welcomed home veterans from WWII, Korea, and Vietnam after their day in Washington.
Although a storm extended an already long night nearly three hours, students enrolled in the U.S. Air Force Junior ROTC program at Shepard High School greeted the returning veterans at Midway Airport with handshakes and warm smiles.
The event, Honor Flight Chicago, offers high school students a unique opportunity to meet people who participated in some of the most signficant events in U.S. history. It's also a lesson in gratitude.
Major Dan Johnson and Chief Bill Foster, the aeronautical science instructors at Shepard, have made attending Honor Flight Chicago a priority for their students. They’ve attended HFC 'welcome home' events annually the last four years.
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Students walk away from experiences like Honor Flight Chicago a little more thoughtful. Books, movies, and classroom lessons may enlighten teenagers about war, but meeting veterans helps them truly understand the service and sacrifice of previous generations.
Honor Flight Chicago allows veterans to spend the day in the capitol touring historic sites, memorials, and other popular venues. The organization flies veterans and an accompanying friend or family member to Washington – the experience includes meals -- for the day at no cost.
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Veterans depart Midway early in the morning and return in the evening.
The Shepard group participated in the welcome back event, which resembles a pep rally. On the public concourse at Midway, veterans enter from the arrival gates to find military service personnel, service bands, families, friends and
volunteers.
People cheer, families wave, and everywhere you look smiles bloom.
To learn more about Honor Flight Chicago, you can visit the web site:
