WASHINGTON, D.C. (WBOY) — All week, 12 News has brought you exclusive interviews from this past weekend’s Honor Flight that took nearly 100 veterans from across the region to the nation’s capital. Part of this trip included a special mail call for those veterans.
For many of these veterans, the words “mail call” brought back memories of messages from home while they were serving their country. Honor Flight officials said that they received hundreds of letters to give to veterans this year, from family members to elementary school classrooms, and they all expressed their gratitude for their veteran’s service.
“I was really surprised…it hit a soft spot there…I shed a tear or two,” U.S. Coast Guard veteran, Vietnam era, Okey Eye said.
The goal of the mail call is for veterans who may have not received any letters during their service to get that opportunity, especially for those who fought in the Vietnam War. Alongside each veteran was a guardian, who supported them physically and emotionally every step of the way.