Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois is calling on the entire community to come out and celebrate 88 local veterans at the Flight #17 Welcome Home Celebration on Monday, Sept 14, beginning at 5:30 p.m. The free, family-friendly
event will be held outdoors in front of the airline terminal at Veterans Airport of Southern
Illinois.
event will be held outdoors in front of the airline terminal at Veterans Airport of Southern
Illinois.
After spending the day touring memorials and monuments in Washington, D.C., the veterans will return home to a hero’s welcome — complete with food trucks, live entertainment, a kids’ zone, and hundreds of flag-waving neighbors lining the Freedom Path.
“The community support for the previous Honor Flight Welcome Home events has been overwhelming. There is no better way to celebrate our veterans and honor them than by giving them a hero’s welcome home.” —
Deborah Hogg, Welcome Home Organizer
Deborah Hogg, Welcome Home Organizer
90 local veterans will return to Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois – MWA Monday night after their day in Washington, D.C., and we would love to see this community there to welcome them home.
𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗜𝗦 𝗢𝗣𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗜𝗖! You do not need to know a veteran on this flight to come out. Bring the kids, invite your family and friends, grab your lawn chairs, make a sign, wave a flag, and be part of a night these veterans will never forget.
𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗡: Monday, September 14
𝗪𝗛𝗘𝗥𝗘: Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois
𝗙𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗕𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗡: 5:30 PM
𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗖𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗘 𝗖𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗬: 9:45 PM
Come early and enjoy:
• Live music and entertainment
• A Kids Zone with inflatables, face painting, yard games, sign-making, snow cones, cotton candy, and more
• Nine food trucks and sweet treats
• A whole evening spent with neighbors who want to show these veterans how much their service means
𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗘𝗥: Airport parking is limited. Please use the free park-and-ride at Sam’s Club or Cornerstone Church. Buses begin at 5:30 PM and will run about every 20 minutes, thanks to T Street Rides, Shawnee Mass Transit District, and JAX Mass Transit.
At 9:45 PM, we will gather along the Freedom Path with flags, signs, cheers, and a whole lot of pride as Flight 17 comes home.
Make plans now. Bring your people. Let’s show 90 veterans what Southern Illinois is all about. 
