“For them to pick Franklin to do this is an honor,” Bray said.
Bray said they are part of an Honor Flight of 72 veterans from the area. The program provides veterans the opportunity for a one-day visit to the nation’s capitol to visit the various war memorials.
The group will leave Dayton on Friday and will tour the various memorials on Saturday. Bray said they will be visiting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Lincoln Memorials as well as other sites. After the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, he said they will lay the wreath.
Bray said it was an honor that the Franklin American Legion post was selected for the ceremony. He also said he was excited as he had never been to Washington, D.C., before.
“I’m honored and humbled,” Bray said. “It’s a dream come true and I’m really excited.”
The Honor Flight program is a nonprofit organization that takes veterans of World War II, Korean and Vietnam wars to see their national memorials in Washington, D.C. The organization gives priority to terminally ill veterans from any of these wars. These trips — both by air or by their RV ground transportation programs — are provided at no cost to all qualified veterans which includes transportation to and from Washington, bus transportation while in D.C., meals, T-shirts, and disposable cameras.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is also known as the Tomb of the Unknowns, is dedicated to U.S. service members who died but whose remains were never identified from World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Arlington National Cemetery is the final resting place for more than 400,000 active duty service members, veterans and their families, according to the cemetery’s website.
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