Thousands of travelers at Reagan National Airport in the Washington, D.C., area erupted in cheers as 42 U.S. veterans disembarked from a Southwest flight. It was the 75th plane to land in the nation's capital from Austin, Texas, through a program that gives veterans a free trip to visit memorials of the wars they fought in.
Honor Flight Austin #75 was fully sponsored through developer Jim Young and his company, Sabot Development, an Austin-based real estate firm that has several high-profile projects underway in the Texas capital, including Lakeline Station in North Austin and Goodwin Apartments in East Austin.
Young, a San Antonio native who served as an Army tank officer before returning to Central Texas to launch Sabot Development, helped escort the 42 veterans who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War on the trip from Sept. 16 through 17.
Each veteran exited the plane to a hero’s welcome as they paraded through DCA's Terminal 1 and began a weekend that included a banquet overlooking the Pentagon, Potomac River and Washington Monument, followed by visits to the nation's memorials and other attractions that honor their service.
Sabot Development also sponsored an Honor Flight Austin trip to D.C. last year. Young reminisced about meeting 92-year-old George Smith, who served in the Army Special Forces during the Vietnam War, on that flight.
"Earlier this year, several of us visited him for his birthday in July, a few weeks before" he died, Young said. "We sat in his home and shared stories. In August, I attended his memorial service where his daughter presented me with a gift." Smith wanted Young to have a prized possession, his Combat Infantryman Badge, known as the CIB, which Smith earned for being in multiple rounds of active ground combat during Vietnam, Young said.
Young took Smith's CIB on the Honor Flight Austin #75 trip to D.C. and "he dined with us, in memory," Young said.
The veterans on the trip helped Honor Flight Austin reach a milestone of sending 3,000 veterans from Central Texas to D.C. since the nonprofit organization based at 1108 Lavaca St. was founded 10 years ago as part of the Honor Flight Network.
Matt Matthias is the volunteer chairman of Honor Flight Austin and has been involved since its inception. He started volunteering in honor of his father and uncle, both of whom fought in World War II and were on Honor Flight Austin's inaugural flight 10 years ago.
"I became involved when Honor Flight first began 10 years ago to cheer for my dad, Vic Mathias and his brother, Arnold, both WWII veterans, as they returned to Austin on the inaugural Honor Flight Austin," Matthias told CoStar News in an email.
"Both were changed men," Matthias said. "The two days our oldest heroes spend with us in Washington, D.C., and at their homecoming from the flight in Austin, heals their souls, their hearts, and their minds. It is life-changing for them to be honored in ways they never could have expected."