East Texas veterans came home to cheers from a Heroes Flight

Cheering and applause met veterans at East Texas Regional Airport on Wednesday night, the Longview News-Journal reported. U.S. Air Force veteran Bill Parrymore, of Longview, found his family and kissed his wife, Carol. They have been married nearly 60 years, and he had not seen her for three days. He and 14 other veterans from the East Texas group were back from Brookshire Grocery Company's Heroes Flight, a trip the company pays for. This year, 15 veterans from the Longview area and 15 from Tulsa, Oklahoma, met in Washington.

The route included the U.S. Capitol, Arlington National Cemetery, and the World War II Memorial. American Airlines and Envoy Air were partners on the flight. The paper said the program has taken hundreds of veterans since 2010. Joan Fudala, who served in the Army from 1983 to 2005 and retired as a master sergeant, called the visit awe-inspiring. It was her first time in Washington since eighth grade. She said it was humbling to see monuments where service was honored, and that she and other women on the trip received plaques at the Military Women's Memorial. Air Force veteran Eric Cummings said wreath ceremonies and taps at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier moved him to tears. Parrymore joined the Air Force in 1968 and spent 1971 in Vietnam with a crash-rescue unit. He later worked 29 years for the Longview Fire Department, including as fire marshal and interim fire chief. He said a stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and schoolchildren waving signs at the World War II Memorial, brought tears to the group. Morgan Jones, who coordinated the trip, said seeing what it does for the veterans is incredible. One airport welcome is this flight. It is not a list of every East Texas veteran who has yet to go.