(KMJ) – The 33rd Honor Flight from the Central Valley is returning Wednesday night at 6:00 pm.
KMJ’s own Christopher Gabriel joined the 67 remarkable veterans, ranging in age from 69 to 96 covering all branches of our military.
“Honor Flight 33 from the Central Valley of California. I cannot begin to express how honored and privileged I feel to be amongst these great Americans, veterans from the Korean War and Vietnam. The stories are remarkable as is their service to our nation. Many more shots coming over the next 48 hours.”
“Visiting the Korean War Veterans Memorial. We have a number of Korean War veterans with us on Central Valley Honor Flight. And as I’ve shared, my dad was a bombardier on a B-29 in Korea. He flew 30 missions. He made it back, but he never made it here. So I’m here for him.
Some early thoughts and facts about the 33rd Honor Flight from the Central Valley of California. We have 67 veterans from 16 hometowns in 7 counties: 2 women, 65 men representing Army (28), Navy (18), Air Force (14), Marine Corps (7) and Coast Guard (1). They range in age from 69 to 96, with years of service spanning from 1948 to 2010, including Korean War, Cold War, Vietnam War, & even some who were still serving for Operation Desert Storm & Desert Shield.
In our manifest, every veteran has a bio. I spent about 90 minutes on the flight absorbing their service stories that range from inconceivable to stunning. And I mean that in the most positive, admiring, awe-inspiring way. You want to see heroes? That’s who I get to spend the next three days with. ”
Gabriel wrote on Facebook: We’re flying to Washington D.C., 35,000 feet up over Nebraska. I notice a name on our list of veterans. Sounds somewhat familiar but I’m really not sure why. So I track him down. And — John Aranjo and my late dad were great friends. Both Air Force, both in the same line of work, both lived in Philadelphia. I never knew. This was a moment that just stopped me cold. At first I didn’t even know what to say when he said, “Are you Chris Gabriel’s son?” We’ve barely gotten started …
Gabriel posted on Facebook about one of the veteran’s great-grandchildren who made the trip.
“A sweet, touching moment with Selah at Arlington National Cemetery. This is her great grandfather. We learned he was a remarkable fighter pilot with 20 kills. She never knew him but family is family. Selah gave permission to post. Being here, it’s hard to find the right words.”
Gabriel posted that monuments were closed due to the government shutdown – but… “it’s opened for the 33rd Central Valley Honor Flight thanks to the efforts of Representative Vince Fong, and House Speaker Mike Johnson. subsequently approving. “There were certainly more involved… thank you to all.”
