WWII veterans from N.C. visit Washington memorial

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — More than 100 veterans from North Carolina traveled Tuesday to the nation's capital to visit the World War II memorial there.

Former U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole organized the trip in honor of her late brother, World War II veteran John Van Hanford Jr.

She was joined by 106 veterans for the flight from Charlotte. Some of them arrived in wheelchairs, others were using walkers. The majority had never seen the memorial dedicated to their service, which opened to the public on April 29, 2004.

The trip is part of the nonprofit Honor Flight Network, which has taken over 30,000 World War II veterans to visit the memorial in Washington. The memorial honors the 16 million who served in the U.S. armed forces, and the more than 400,000 who died.

When the group from North Carolina stepped off the plane in Washington, D.C., they were greeted by current and former military personnel. A band played and travelers stopped in their tracks to salute the veterans as they made their way through the crowd.

Tears shone in the eyes of some as they comprehended the outpouring of support.

14 Comments

WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.

VIEW ALL 14 COMMENTS

This story is closed for comments. Comments on WRAL.com news stories are accepted and moderated between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Latest Comments

A heartfelt thank you to those who served and those who are serving. And the most deepest Thank You to the Heros and their Families who gave the ultimate sacrifice. You will not be forgotten.

God bless You.

Axtel
October 20, 2009 4:37 p.m.

Any and every military service member, past and present (and future) are heroes. I have been to the Memorial, laid wreaths in Arlington, seen everything I could that honors our Veterans. I have many in my family and am honored to live in the USA.

just my2cents
October 20, 2009 2:49 p.m.

Thanks so much to all these wonderful veterans and the great impact they made on the world during WWII. Say what you will about war, there are people like these who put self second and country first. May God bless them all!

Beach4Me
October 20, 2009 1:23 p.m.

As soon as I heard they had one in Washington I went for my dad who served in WWII on a battleship in the Navy. It is an amazing memorial. All the names are listed in an electronic kiosk http://www.wwiimemorial.com/default.asp?page=registry.asp&subpage=search you can even add a loved one. I'm hoping to plan a trip to take him he would love it & deserves to see it. Thank you dad for your service and to all those that served then & do now. God Bless all of you!

tootie
October 20, 2009 12:38 p.m.

Thank you to Elizabeth Dole for organizing this trip for the veterans. Their service to this country will not be forgotten - we and all future generations have a debt to those who served in WWII.