The 18th Honor Flight for veterans, which left on Tuesday, May 8, with 62 veterans aboard included two with local ties - David Lehman Jr., California, and Harry Harris, Ashland.
When the veterans arrived in Columbia at about midnight, a busy and sleepless trip awaited them.
They checked in for the flight at a Columbia hotel at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday and left for the St. Louis airport on two buses just after 2 a.m.
They left on a chartered airliner at 6 a.m., landed in Baltimore, Md., then went by bus driving by the U.S. Capitol, to the National Mall, White House, World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Iwo Jima monument and Arlington National Cemetery. After more than a full day, they boarded the plane for the trip back to St. Louis, and the bus to Columbia. They arrived in Columbia in the early hours of Wednesday, May 9.
For more of this story check out the May 30 issue of the California Democrat.