This past October, I had the absolute pleasure of joining one of my best friends as she welcomed her godfather home after his Honor Flight. Do you know what an Honor Flight is? I’m going to paraphrase because let’s be honest, I didn’t google the real definition. An Honor Flight is for veterans to fly out to Washington DC for the day, a day for them to be shown around and acknowledged, and when they come home, their friends and family are waiting patiently at the airport for them to arrive.

Already I’m tearing up just remembering that night, and I did not have a relative to look for. There were a good thousand people in the Dane County Airport, just waiting for that plane to come in, and when it did, the veterans were applauded, they were congratulated, kids gave them high fives and so very, very many people cheered, shook their hands and thanked them for their service.

Just picture it, these men and women that were sent off to war, many of them drafted, and when they came home from that war were spit upon and called names, were now being honored for their service. It is humbling to watch their faces as they traveled through this crowd of people. I cried, behind my camera as I kept taking photos of those around me, and I tried my best to capture the emotions that the veterans and this crowd were sharing.

If you ever get the chance, go and wait for an Honor Flight to arrive. I promise you that you will not regret it.