Tuscaloosa Rotary Honor Flight Flies Vietnam Veterans To Washington

By Donna Cope

With sacrifice comes honor.

For about 100 Vietnam veterans seeing the Vietnam War Memorial on May 10 – many for their first time – it was a moment to pay respect to the 58,000 Americans who gave their lives in the conflict. It was also a time for those veterans to be honored for their service, to reflect on the past and to heal.

The trip would not have been possible without the Tuscaloosa Rotary Honor Flight, which sponsored its 8th annual event to send veterans on the flight. With help from the Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa, the Vietnam veterans took a chartered Boeing 737 from Tuscaloosa Regional Airport to Washington, D.C. The trip included stops at the World War II and Korean War memorials, the Lincoln Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Arlington National Cemetery Changing of the Guard and the Pentagon 9/11 Memorial. Being at the Vietnam War Memorial stirred memories – good and bad – and brought tears to the eyes of many a veteran such as Northport resident Paul Bagwell. The opportunity to be there, amongst so many veterans, also rendered healing for the twice-injured Bagwell.

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