MARION (WSIL) -- Veterans Honor Flight 7 arrived safely at home Tuesday night.
Local veterans are back in our region after a one-day trip to Washington DC.
They visited landmarks honoring the wars they fought in and the comrades they lost.
We've had special coverage of Honor Flight 7 since it departed early this morning.
Tuesday night, it was all smiles and cheers as 87 veterans arrived from their trip to Washington DC.
Hundreds of people came out to support and welcome them back.
News 3 spoke with a few families who were so excited and proud to see their loved one on the honor flight.
One family had two sisters that planned to surprised their dad.
One traveled from Centralia, Missouri and the other flew all the way from Florida.
News 3 spoke with them earlier about what this event means to them and their dad told me he enjoyed seeing the Arlington Cemetery.
"To see the pride of being the veteran and being with others and the love that they share and the love that he's going to show us when he see us that's important," said Debbie Jones.Â
"The flight was good. There was a lot of veterans. We had things in common. We were brothers and sisters. We thought it was important enough to join the armed forces and be drafted because of love for our country. When we went in to swear in. We said I do and that do meant I was willing to die for my country," said honor flight attendee, Jim Beasley.
There were 12 other veterans that planned to be on the flight, but they've passed away.
Veterans honored their welcome with a tribute at the beginning of the event.
This is the first flight in two years due to the pandemic.
This year all passengers had to be vaccinated before they could fly.
