‘Honor Flights’ take veterans to D.C. war memorials

Urban Rahoi, a 98-year-old WWII pilot, visits Washington, D.C., with Colleen Wood, a friend and Alaska Airlines customer service agent in November 2017.

Some arrive in wheelchairs. Others are aided by walkers or canes. Some come on the arm of a guardian.

Alaska Airlines has flown more than 2,000 veterans on 46 Honor Flights since 2012.

Most recently, we partnered with Puget Sound Honor Flight to fly veterans of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam from Seattle to Baltimore on Oct. 13, 2018. They spent the weekend visiting monuments and memorials that honor their service and sacrifice.

“These brave men and women made great sacrifices for our country,” said Marilyn Romano, Alaska Airlines regional vice president in the state of Alaska. “It is an honor to help them fulfill a dream to see the memorials dedicated to all who have served.”

Family and friends greet vets returning to Sea-Tac on Oct. 15, 2018.

More images from Alaska Airlines Honor Flights

This article was originally published in November 2017. Photos courtesy of the Honor Flight Network.

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Comments

  1. Thanks for this blog! I am glad that our veterans get the benefits they deserve. There is another organization ( http://wingsforwarriors.org/ ) that flies families to the veterans!

  2. I’ve volunteered as an escort on 7 Honor Flights now, and I am SO PROUD of how the Alaska team comes together for these heroes. They deserve it, and are so grateful and humbled by all of the attention.

  3. Alaska Airlines is a first class company. Excellent service, excellent leadership and employees that are proud to come to work everyday and give guests an exceptional experience.

  4. I got to see the veterans from the state of Alaska transiting at PDX, it was a very powerful moment. They had an honor guard, bag pipes playing. Passengers who would normally be scurrying to and from simply stopped in their tracks and gave a round of applause and paid them the respect and honor they were due. Thank you Alaska for dedicating a plane to get them to D.C, it made me proud to be a gold member of an airline that still cares and to know you view this as an investment in making society even better place and paid it forward on a grand scale!!!!!

    1. Thank you, Alaska Airlines, for honoring our WWII veterans. My father died six weeks prior to his name coming up for the Honor Flight. He was so proud to have served. I know that the Honor Flight organizers here in Alaska appreciate that sponsors like you allow them to get more and more WWII Veterans, their families, and Caregivers to DC and honor them. Keep up the great work!

  5. This is a wonderful commitment to our armed forces of all those wars! However it is extra special for those who fought in Vietnam and did not get the treatment or recognition they deserved when they arrived back home!! Thank You Alaska Airlines for including them on your flights!! Judy Hinton

    1. Thank you, Judy for your thoughtful words. Today, when vets from Vietnam see each other, we shake hands and/or hug, and say to one another, “Welcome home!”

    2. As a proud niece of a Vietnam Veteran, I appreciate this so very much. I was just telling my 3 children (9, 10, and 14) about how horribly our vets were treated upon arrival home from Vietnam. I agree whole-heartedly that all of our veterans deserve the chance to be honored in such a respectful fashion. Thank you, Alaska Airlines for making this possible for all veterans.

  6. I am 84 and can say that WW2 shaped my life and attitude. I commend AK Air for honoring those men and women who served. I had two aunts/cousins who were in Asia serving as RN’s during that war. And one who with her Army husband returned to Japan after the war was over, stationed there during the after events.

    Thank you for all you are doing.

    Diane Foss

  7. This is so wonderful! Thanks for honoring our service people. I love your airline and the people who work there. Keep up the good work!

  8. Happy 242nd birthday to the United States Marine Corps founded on November 10, 1775 at Tunn Tavern in Philadelphia. Thanks to Alaska Airlines for honoring the true heros of this great country. Respectfully, Sgt. Joseph W. Evans, 1st Armored Amphibian Company, 11th Marines, 1st Marine Division, Vietnam, June 1968 to July 1969.

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