A group of veterans traveling to Washington, DC ahead of Veterans Day had a surprise visitor: Barack Obama. The Korean War and Vietnam War veterans were on an Honor Flight from Madison, Wisconsin, organized by the Honor Flight Network, a nonprofit that helps veterans visit war memorials in the nation's capital, ABC News reports. After the flight landed at Reagan National Airport on Monday, the former president boarded the plane and delivered a personal message over the intercom. "As we approach Veterans Day, I wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service," Obama said in the video posted on X.
"To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored, and we are very grateful," Obama said. "There were people sitting up front that could see him, and it quickly moved back through the plane that President Obama was there to greet us," Navy veteran Nel Swenson tells MPR. He says it was an honor to meet the former president. All 87 veterans on the flight got a handshake and commemorative coin from Obama.
Jody McClain, director of flight operations for Badger Honor Flight, tells MPR that she and other organizers were as surprised as the veterans. The Honor Flight Network, which relies on donations, has flown over 300,000 veterans to DC in the past two decades. When the veterans and their families entered the terminal, they were greeted by dozens of people before a tour of war memorials on the National Mall, the Hill reports. "This all means a lot, because back then, you got off the plane there, and you had no welcome, and people were almost booing you," Army veteran Greg Adkins said, per People.
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