Chuck Veltri said to be on the Honor Flight was one of his best experiences, and an honor and a blessing.
“A veteran is someone who at some point in their life, wrote a blank check made payable to the ‘United States of America’ for any amount up to and including their life.” (Author—unknown)
No one knows this better than Arizona Honor Flight, which is a nonprofit organization that honors America’s veterans. They transport America’s heroes (aka veterans) selected to go on the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at the nation’s memorials, at no cost to them.
On April 11 through 13, Honor Flight Arizona flew its 96th flight from Sky Harbor Airport. PebbleCreek resident Chuck Veltri was fortunate to be on that flight. Chuck is an Army veteran who served his country in Vietnam from July 1970 to July 1971. He is married to Frankie Veltri, has one married son Eric (Sandra), one married daughter Brittany (Rob), and twin grandchildren Hayden and Hailey. He is an avid golfer and a member of the PebbleCreek Democratic Club.
There were 33 veterans on the Arizona Honor Flight representing veterans from the Army, Air Force, and Marines. The veterans were all Vietnam Veterans except for one who was a World War II Veteran who was also a POW in Germany and who has celebrated his 100th birthday.
On the first day the veterans were able to visit the Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, US Marine Corp War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and saw the changing of the guard. They had dinner at Fort Myer, home of the “Old Guard Tomb Sentinels.” At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, they had a pinning ceremony to give the Vietnam Veterans a long awaited thank you for their service in a war that was one of the longest in U.S. history. There are 58,200 names on the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
The second day they visited Fort McHenry in Baltimore (where Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem), the Naval Academy, and the USNA Museum.
On the flight back there was one last ‘military mail call’ and the veterans received letters family and friends wrote to them. Chuck Veltri said it was a great ending to a great adventure.
Interested Vietnam, Korean, or WWII veterans should go to honorflightaz.org/veterans to submit a request for travel.