Local veterans embarked on the Honor Flight Mission 20 to Washington, D.C. on May 3 to commemorate their military service. The trip, run by Twin Tiers Honor Flight, gave the veterans an opportunity to see memorials built in their honor.

The organization, part of the Honor Flight Network, is one of 128 hubs across the country, according to Andrea Bartolotto, secretary of the Twin Tiers Honor Flight’s board of directors. The local chapter represents veterans living in 14 counties in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York’s Southern Tier.

The veterans began their trip with breakfast at the American Legion Post 1645 in Binghamton’s East Side before leaving the city on a bus. The Broome County Sheriff’s Office, the American Legion riders and two other motorcycle groups escorted the bus to the state border.

While in the nation’s capital, they visited several sites commemorating Americans who served in wartime, like the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the World War II Memorial, Bartolotto added. They also visited the Lincoln Memorial, the U.S. Navy Memorial, the Marine Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Army Museum and the Washington Monument.

“At the Saturday night banquet, each veteran is individually honored and pinned and thanked for their service,” Bartolotto wrote to Pipe Dream. “The veterans receive mail call on the trip home and are given the welcome home many never received — from being escorted in and out of town by motorcycle escorts as well as local law enforcement.”

The next day, the group visited the Arlington National Cemetery and witnessed the changing of the guard. Four honored veterans laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

“A ‘welcome home’ is something that many veterans never got, especially those from the Vietnam era,” wrote Kitty Cummings, a veteran who went on Honor Flight Mission 19, an all-female group. “Honor Flight works hard to make sure every veteran gets the recognition and welcome home they deserve.”

Veterans also received “mail call,” or individualized letters of appreciation from family and community members.

“Day before our trip, Honor Flight staff spent hours sorting and organizing large bundles of mail for each veteran — not only from their family and friends, but from local school children and community members — the same types of mail I remember getting and relishing when I was deployed,” Cummings wrote on the importance of the mail call.

Bartolotto added the trip was an important chance for older veterans to find closure, especially for those with health concerns or mobility issues. Priority is often given to World War II-, Korea-, and Vietnam-era veterans or those who are terminally ill, according to the Twin Tiers Honor Flight website. Each veteran is accompanied by a “guardian,” usually a family member, friend or volunteer, on trips.

Traveling with other veterans allows them to share their experiences and find unity with others like them and their families, Cummings wrote.

“It’s powerful when they connect with others who served,” she continued. “For many, this trip offers real emotional support, a feeling of being valued and appreciated.”