DETROIT – The second Mid-Michigan Honor Flight this year is a history maker.
For the first time, every veteran who is taking part is a woman.
It’s a journey that takes them through the Washington D.C. Memorials built to honor their service to their country.
Those thanking them for their service say they are pioneers for future generations of women in the military.
For veteran Esther Wynder of Fenton, the World War II Memorial created moments for reflection.
“To be able to say that I was part of an all-female flight coming to Washington, D.C. to view all of the many monuments that have been poured out for the veterans, it’s tremendous,” Wynder said.
“Just to see, not just the male veterans, recognized, but now the female veterans, old and welcomed finally, it’s amazing,” said Jenifer Jones.
Visiting the rededicated Korean War Veterans Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial was a time for veteran Fenise Hoffman of Saginaw to pause.
“Grief, sadness, a lot of people’s names on that wall who lost their lives serving our country,” Hoffman said.
Near the Vietnam War Memorial, veteran Deanna Sinclair-Parker of Traverse City, who served in Germany, was remembering her fallen friends and colleagues.
“Very emotional to me. Very emotional,” Sinclair-Parker said. “It’s hard, it’s hard, it’s very hard.”
This veteran promised a friend she would find the name of his brother on the Vietnam War Memorial -- and she did.
It’s her gift to her friend, who is too grief-stricken to visit the wall himself.
The two-day journey is an emotional one for the women veterans, many of whom are here in Washington D.C. for the very first time.