In November of 2024, Vietnam Veteran John Rhodes I and his son walked through Tucson International Airport surrounded by an American flag-waving crowd, all gathered to welcome them home after their Honor Flight visit to the war memorials of Washington, D.C.
It was the hero's welcome the former Marine, like many others, never received after service in Vietnam.
Just like last November, this year's Honor Flight will conclude with a hero's welcome home at the airport. The nonprofit Honor Flight Southern Arizona is hoping to raise enough funds through our KGUN 9 Giving Project to charter a flight for 75 veterans—50 more than usual.
The need is great, they say, as the wait list has grown to 350, and includes two World War II veterans and 16 veterans of the Korean War.
"I'm not an emotional person, but that was more emotion than I've ever had, I think," Rhodes said of the hero's welcome he received following his return from last year's Honor Flight.
Rhodes is a retired Marine who did two tours in Vietnam.
He went on last November's Honor Flight with his son, John Rhodes II, who served as his Guardian on the flight.
Like many veterans of war, Rhodes never opened up about being wounded in combat, until this trip.
The younger Rhodes said of his father's experience, saying, "This trip really did open up a lot more of the stories of what he went through and his time in the service."
The trip included a stop at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and a chance to find the names of fellow Marines who didn't make it through the war.
"It was a moving experience because I was able to point out a couple of names of people that I knew," Rhodes told me.
Both say the experience of returning to Tucson International Airport, with a hero's welcome awaiting them, was one of the trip's most memorable and special moments.
"It was closure. Because we certainly didn't, we didn't get that kind of a recognition when we came home the first and second times," Rhodes said.
John Rhodes II says witnessing the 'welcome home' for his father and other veterans at the airport even had a profound effect on him.
"To see those emotions building on him was just, and looking around and seeing the other veterans that went on this flight, seeing the emotions that they had, brought emotion to me too."
Honor Flight Southern Arizona is hoping to give more deserving veterans that same experience.
So far in our Giving Project this month, KGUN 9 has raised more than $7,000 in support of these veterans' Honor Flights. If you're looking for a reason to give, Rhodes says that these trips help fill a void for many Vietnam Vets.
"You're going to give to them the opportunity to come back and feel what they missed when they came back the other time," Rhodes said. "Because they're holding that in their hearts, and they've held it there for over 50 years."
Honor Flight Southern Arizona currently has 350 veterans on its waiting list, and they hope to raise enough money to take 75 veterans to Washington this November—a much larger group than they've taken on past Honor Flights.
If you'd like to help Honor Flight Southern Arizona take 75 veterans to Washington this November, you can do so directly through their website, honorflightsaz.org.
Our partners in the Giving Project, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will again match the first $500 in donations.
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Pat Parris is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. He is a graduate of Sabino High School where he was the 1982 high school state track champion in the 800 meters. While in high school and college, he worked part-time in the KGUN 9 newsroom. Share your story ideas and important issues with Pat by emailing pat.parris@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
