HONOR FLIGHT: The real story

I am a veteran who was honored to be part of the recent Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. The LTE in the May 4 paper from John Nagel, who was not on that flight, is a complete misrepresentation of one small event that took place at the Navy memorial.

A mentally disturbed “street person” saw the 100 or so veterans who were at that memorial and made some remarks about the negative impact that the Vietnam War had on his family. The individual was loud and obnoxious, but at no time did he ever “get in anyone’s face” as Mr. Nagel alleges. Given the number of combat veterans in attendance, that would have been detrimental to his physical health.

A total of three police officers responded within three or four minutes and restrained and removed the individual.

This was a single incident over the 38-hour trip that included visits to seven memorials and Arlington National Cemetery. At all of the Honor Flight stops, our veterans were warmly welcomed, applauded and appreciated, including an amazing “Welcome Home” when we returned to the Spokane Airport.

It is unfortunate that a misguided person, who was not on the trip, sought to characterize one small incident in a wonderful program that honors veterans to further his personal political agenda. Honor Flight is a fantastic program that deserves our community’s full support.

LEN CROSBY

Post Falls