Swallow Cliff Chapter Participates in Honor Flight Chicago

Honor Flight Chicago - Operation HerStory

Swallow Cliff Chapter, NSDAR was pleased to have two members participate in activities for the first ever all-women Honor Flight, called Operation HerStory. Marria Blinn was tasked with creating, personalizing, and printing nearly 200 certificates for the donors who made the flight possible. Additionally, she helped organize and label the hats that were customized for each veteran’s service and later drove the hats to the Naperville VFW for distribution at the September 26th Pre-Flight Event. Marria was pleased and excited to be able to contribute her efforts in making the upcoming experience all the more special for the veterans.

Member Audra Gray was honored to be selected to serve as a guardian on the flight and to accompany a veteran throughout the trip. After attending training classes, she was excited for October 6th to arrive. Her day started with check-in at 4:00 AM at Midway Airport. Following snacks and a visit from Wayne Messmer and his wife, the chartered Southwest Airlines flight headed to Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., where they were greeted by a water cannon salute on the tarmac and an honor guard inside the terminal. A police escort led the buses to their destinations for the day: the Women in Military Service to America Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Viet Nam War Memorial, and the World War II Memorial. After dinner at Dulles Airport and mail call, the veterans, representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, headed back to Midway Airport where another water cannon welcome awaited, as well as escorts from the Great Lakes Naval Base and the Road Warriors and a welcome home parade in the baggage claim area. Accompanied by friend Cyndi Rhodes, Swallow Cliff Chapter members Lynn Gray, Marria Blinn, Gale Shafer, and husbands Steve Blinn and Todd Shafer were on hand to greet the returning heroes. Many of the veterans could be seen with tears in their eyes as they gazed upon the many people who were lined up to greet and cheer them as they went by. On this historic flight were two World War veterans, aged 100 and 105, seven Korean War veterans, and 83 Viet Nam Veterans. Audra shared that it was an honor and a privilege to spend the day with this incredible group of soldiers.