WWII veterans take Honor Flight

Ten WWII veterans from Friendship Village in Schaumburg flew on Honor Flight Chicago to Washington DC on Tuesday, May 14th to visit the WWII War Memorial. Honor Flight Network has flown more than 100,000 veterans to the memorial in Washington D.C. , since 2005. “This is the third group of Friendship Village residents who have flown on Honor Flight Chicago. It's a wonderful program that is dedicated to honoring veterans for their service to their country,” said Jeannette Magdaleno, life-long learning and community outreach coordinator for Friendship Village. The veterans departed Friendship Village at 3 a.m., and returned at 11 p.m. to a warm welcome of family and friends at Midway Airport.

A send-off celebration was held during the week prior to the flight. On Friday, May 10th, family members and residents of Friendship Village honored the veterans in a ceremony which opened with the 85th Support Command Color Guard of Arlington Heights presenting the colors. Stephen Yenchek, president/CEO of Friendship Senior Options gave the veterans an FSO banner to take with them to D.C. Students from Frost Junior High School attended the event, and thanked the veterans for their service.

“One of our veterans told me after his trip, that until his return on Honor Flight at Midway, no one had ever thanked him for serving in the war. When he returned and there were almost a thousand people waving at him and thanking him, it meant so much to him,” said Magdaleno.