Jumpline magazine February 2025 - Flipbook - Page 24
24
Honor Flight South Fla- Mission 333
Five members of
Local 1403 participated
in a recent Honor Flight
South Florida trip. Here is
a beautiful note about
each member’s trip
and experience:
By Gabe Nemeth, Ret.
On October 26, 2024, 昀椀ve Local 1403 members took the opportunity to board an Honor Flight as a “guardian,” and spend
the day with a military veteran in the nation’s capital. Our union
is a long term supporter of Honor Flight South Florida and graciously sponsored these members for this special mission of
gratitude. A total of 69 veterans from the Korean and Vietnam
Wars were aboard the 昀氀ight, for a journey that would take them
to the military memorials recognizing their service, as well as
the service of others like them, the men and women who have
kept America free.
While Honor Flights celebrate the service, sel昀氀essness and
sacri昀椀ce made by our veterans, it presents a long, arduous day
for everyone. We arrived in Washington around 4 a.m.. Our
stops included: Arlington National Cemetery, United States Marine Corps War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial), Military Women’s Memorial, World War II Memorial, Korean War Veterans
Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (The Wall). The
day gives the guardians an opportunity to interact with their
assigned veterans and listen to their recollections, opening a
door to new friendships.
Various authors
Article by: Orville Tayor
On Saturday October 26th, 2024, I had the honor of being
a guardian on an Honor Flight South Florida mission. Over
the years I’ve only heard about the Honor Flight from co-workers who have participated in the past, but that did not prepare
me for the awesome experience that I had. Although I have
three brothers who’ve served in the military, I have never
served but I’ve always had a great appreciation and respect
for the men and women who leave their families to protect the
freedom of our country. Leading up to Honor Flight, I didn’t
know what to expect but found comfort in knowing that I’d be
alongside several members of my MDFR family who also volunteered to be guardians. The 昀椀rst day I met my veteran, Bill, it
was amazing. We spoke for over an hour and talking with him
was like going back in time. He shared a lot about his experience in Vietnam and his 20-year career in the Navy. He said
this would be the 昀椀rst time visiting the memorial. The weather
in D.C. was great. All the veterans witnessed the changing of
the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington
National Cemetery. Later, we visited the World War II Memorial
and The Wall containing the names of the 58,000 servicemen
who gave their lives or are missing in Vietnam. It was humbling
to see these veterans with tears in their eyes as they searched
for the names of friends they’d lost. I commend Honor Flight for
all they do in honoring our veterans and I also recognize Local 1403’s Dade County Association of Fire昀椀ghter Charities for
sponsoring our members who volunteered for the Honor Flight.
I highly recommend the trip to all our members.
Honor Flights began after the establishment of the World War
II Memorial in 2004, a time when most veterans of that war were
over eighty years old and would have a dif昀椀cult time traveling
to their memorial. Honor Flight missions throughout the years
have been to 昀氀y a veteran to D.C., escorted by a guardian who
would look out for their safety, so they could visit their memorial. The Honor Flight Network has celebrated over 300,000
veterans since 2005 from more than 128 hubs nationwide. The
missions have expanded to honor Korea and Vietnam veterans
as most World War II veterans are no longer able to participate
in the long day.
Local 1403, MDFR, and the Benevolent have been great
benefactors of Honor Flight South Florida. They have held raf昀氀es to raise money, assisted the volunteer medical/safety staff,
and supplied guardians in large numbers. In 2015, there were
昀椀fty guardians from MDFR on a single 昀氀ight. The organization
is trying to provide 4 昀氀ights a year from our area and Local
1403 looks forward to continuing its assistance to the Honor
Flight Network and recognizing our veterans for their service
and sacri昀椀ce. If you’d like to become a part of this worthy endeavor, keep an eye out for announcements on future 昀氀ights.
March 2025 | JUMPLINE Magazine
