In a sea of brothers in arms, Phil and David Craddock share an even deeper bond: brothers by blood.
The duo from Union, Kentucky got to experience an Honor Flight together over the weekend, visiting Washington D.C. for the first time.
“What do you think about that?” one of the organizers asked Phil, looking out over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. “It’s pretty neat, aint it?” Phil responded.
The Honor Flight was jam packed with stops at several memorials, but one moment resonated more than others, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
“So many names,” said Phil, struck by the seemingly endless list of names on the Vietnam Wall.
The granite v-shaped wall is inscribed with the names of 58,000 servicemen and women who were killed or remain missing from the conflict spanning two decades.
“I was 20 when I was drafted,” said David. “I guess I was about 21, probably younger,” said Phil.
Phil served in the Air Force in Vietnam for four years, and David did two years in the Army, serving in Germany.