When veterans returned home to Springfield airport later that night, they were greeted by a large number of people from Logan County.  Among those meeting the veterans at the airport were students from the Land of Lincoln CEO and facilitator Britta Langley, the Hartsburg-Emden basketball team with Hartem Assistant Basketball Coach and Logan County Circuit Judge Jonathan Wright as well as several other Lincoln students and community members.

Logan County students and community members honor local veterans at the end of their Honor Flight

[November 15, 2019]  The Land of Lincoln Honor Flight 59 that toured Washington, DC on October 29, 2019 returned home to Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield later that evening to a huge crowd of supporters, many of who were from Lincoln.

The airport parking lot was packed on this night and inside the hallways were decked with wall-to-wall well-wishers.

Students from the Land of Lincoln CEO program made signs greeting the veterans

Denny O’Donoghue, Mike O’Donoghue, Joe Gleason, Mike Young, Danny Babbs, Gail Liesman and Paul Estes were among the veterans representing Logan County on this final flight of 2019. A total of 94 veterans along with their official guardians visited the WWII, Korean and Vietnam Memorials that day as well as Arlington National Cemetery. Stops were also made at the Lincoln Memorial, National Air and Space Museum, US Marine Corps Memorial, US Navy Plaza and US Air Force Memorial.

Denny O’Donoghue (right) of Lincoln is greeted by Austin O’Donoghue as the members of Land of Lincoln Honor Flight 59 return to Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport on October 29, 2019. 

Each and every veteran greeted on the return trip back to Springfield echoed the same sentiment, saying “it was a great day” in the nation’s capital.

These Honor Flights are provided to the veterans at no cost. The flights will resume in April of 2020.

Thank you veterans for your service.

[Text from file received from ]