BIG FLATS, N.Y. (WENY) — A nonprofit that takes veterans to Washington, D.C., is working to make sure they know they are not forgotten, after bringing a group from the Twin Tiers to the nation’s capital for a weekend in September.
Veterans and their loved ones boarded a bus at the Big Flats American Legion on Friday, September 18. It was the first trip from the area for Warriors to Washington, an Erie, Pennsylvania-based group that has taken hundreds of veterans to D.C. from Erie over the past 14 years.
“Well, it’s great for us to be able to reach out to another community of veterans,” said founder Joe Pfadt, who spend 30 years serving in the U.S. Army National Guard. “The Elmira, New York, community is very much like the Erie community, so we’re happy to be here. Very excited to take our first group from outside of Erie to Washington and show them the sights and let them experience what our veterans in Erie have experienced.”
Warriors to Washington was founded to honor all veterans, with a special focus on those who served after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Pfadt, a retired educator, was inspired to create the organization after three his former students were killed while serving overseas after 9/11…