Vets leave Merced County for D.C.

World War II veterans from Merced County were joined at Castle Airport by their fellow service men and women from around the Valley on Monday as they boarded a plane on their way to the nation’s capital.

The Central Valley Honor Flight took 72 combat veterans from World War II, including 16 from Merced County, to Washington, D.C., for a three-day trip. The charter flight is the fifth such effort but the first to take off from Castle Airport instead of Fresno.

Now in their 80s and 90s, some walked unassisted, some leaned on canes and still others sat in wheelchairs as they boarded the jumbo jet, the beginning of the tour organized by the nonprofit.

The Atwater Maching Band, elected officials, families and friends gathered at the airport to see the veterans off Monday morning. About 1,500 relatives, marching bands, cheerleaders, officials, fellow veterans and military members will be on hand starting around 3 p.m. Wednesday, with a program scheduled at 5 p.m. The plane is due to land about 5:45 p.m.

Central Valley Honor Flight raises about $1,500 per veteran to cover their transportation, lodging and meals.

Since the inaugural flight in October 2013, the organization has taken nearly 300 World War II veterans, free of charge, to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.

The tour plans visits to the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam War Memorial and the Marine Corps Memorial. The veterans will also witness the changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Veterans also will visit the Iwo Jima Memorial and be hosted at a lunch sponsored by a Central Valley congressional delegation at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

According to organizers, more than 5,000 World War II veterans live in the seven-county area served by the organization: Merced, Stanislaus, Mariposa, Madera, Fresno, Kings and Tulare counties.

This story was originally published October 27, 2014 at 2:09 PM with the headline "Vets leave Merced County for D.C.."