WWII Veterans Honor Flight Erupts Cheering Crowd

WWII Vets with Honor Flight spontaneously cheered by travelers at Reagan National Airport
May 23, 2012

On May 23, 2012, World War II veterans on an Honor Flight from South Carolina arrived in Washington DC to visit the WWII Memorial.

As some background, the person holding the newspaper and men by the flags were the small handful of volunteers officially greeting the veterans. The photographer and videographer seen in the video were actually on the flight and came off the plane first. The gate attendant joked when they came out of the jet way that Honor Flights come with their own Paparazzi.

The woman seen escorting the first veteran was the same US Air gate attendant who made the original announcements. What you didn't see was two airport firetrucks did an amazing "water cannon salute" making an arch of water as the jet arrived. The gate attendant told the crowd that such a salute is typically reserved for a pilot returning from their last flight before retiring.