AFBA has written about Honor Flight many times before. However, the program that flies World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to receive praise and experience all the nation's capital has to offer, has done something different. Honor Flight recently did its first all-female veteran run.
Military Times reported that on Sept. 22, the program got 140 female former servicemembers to sign up for the event. Cheryl Popp, Honor Flight Tri-State director, told WCPO-9 News that no previous flight had ever included more than five women.
Dorothy Kist, a 91-year-old former Navy radio operator, was among the 140 ladies. She said she was very excited for the experience, and she was especially ready to see the Women in Combat Memorial at Arlington.
"I've wanted to see the women's memorial ever since it was built," Kist told WCPO-9 News. "And I was tickled to death when they said this was all women, because you have someone to talk to, and it will be so much nicer."
Kist and the other female veterans will also visit the WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. If the Sept. 22 flight is a success, Honor Flight says it will arrange for more all-female trips.