On Saturday, April 18, 2020, more than 60 World War II, Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, and Iraq war era veterans from all around the Twin Tiers will take the trip of a lifetime to Washington, D.C. through the Twin Tiers Honor Flight, a non-profit organization which honors America’s veterans with incredible trips to see their war memorials in Washington, D.C.

Enter your number to get our free mobile app

While in Washington, D.C., our Twin Tiers area veterans will visit the Vietnam Wall, the Korean Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, World War II Memorial, Airforce Memorial, among other sights including Arlington National Cemetery.

Sadly, many of the veterans who will be taking this trip didn't receive a hero's welcome home when they returned from service so many years ago and so, the Twin Tiers Honor Flight would like to encourage you to carve out a little bit of your time during the evening of Saturday, April 18 to gather at the Greater Binghamton Airport, located on Airport Road in Johnson City, to clap and cheer as our veterans step off of their plane following their trip as a way to let them know how much our community appreciates their sacrifices. You're welcome to wear patriotic colored clothing, to bring American flags to wave, and to make homemade signs if you'd like. Kids are strongly encouraged to attend.

Please help by spreading the word to anyone you think would like to show appreciation and gratitude to our veterans through this special homecoming celebration. Those planning to attend are asked to be at the Greater Binghamton Airport on Saturday, April 18 by 6:00 p.m. The expected arrival time for our veterans at the airport is at 7:00 p.m., but the time may change in either direction, so the public is asked to arrive by 6:00 p.m. to be sure to snag a parking spot and also to not to miss this amazing welcome home gathering. There will be volunteers to direct you where to park and what hangar to gather in. Note: our veterans will not be coming in through the main airport terminal, they will arrive at one of the hangars.

To give you an idea of what these trips are like for our veterans, this is a peek at some moments from Mission 9 which happened in the fall of 2019.

The Twin Tiers Honor Flight doesn't charge veterans anything for their trip - every single thing is completely funded through donations and fundraising efforts, which are tax-deductible. Twin Tiers Honor Flight is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charity and registered with the charities bureaus of New York State (Registration: 44-32-54) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Registration: 105768).

If you're interested in volunteering to help with the April 18 early morning send-off or the evening homecoming celebration, please reach out to Tammie Mangano by emailing  tmangano@yahoo.com. Please include "Twin Tiers Honor Flight" in your email subject line. 

More From 98.1 The Hawk