SANFORD, Fla. – WKMG’s Steven Montiero had the honor to join several veterans on an Honor Flight bound for the nation’s capital.
The flight was made in collaboration with Honor Flight Central Florida and took off from Orlando Sanford International Airport on Saturday morning.
Montiero, known as “Trooper Steve” is also a veteran. He and News 6 photojournalist James Gosselin served as official guardians on the trip as they flew to Washington D.C. and visited memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices to the country.
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“We may visit these memorials on vacation or with family and there is nothing wrong with that. But when your mission is to see these memorials surrounded with brothers and sisters and not a word needs to be said, it’s life completing for me,” Montiero said. “There were moments when all we needed to do was look at each other, place a hand on one another’s shoulders or simple just be there. We live in a time when many can’t even understand or have the knowledge of what has taken place in our history. To be here with our history on a personal level and a level in which I can personally understand… it’s a bond that is unbreakable. Today was more than being a guardian for a war veteran, I made new family members today.”
The 51 veterans left Sanford bright and early on a chartered flight with about 70 other people and are expected to land back in Central Florida later this evening.
Airport officials said that the returning veterans will be greeted with a celebration including military bands, honor guards and a ceremonial coin presentation.
Honor Flight Central Florida have flown over 1,000 Central Florida veterans since 2012, according to their website.
The Honor Flight Network said they have flown over 250,000 Veterans from 46 states and 136 regional hubs since 2005 with Honor Flight Central Florida being a registered HUB of the national network.
To learn more about becoming a future Honor Flight guardian, click here.
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