Newmark Grubb Knight Frank chairman Jeffery Gural is helping a battalion of World War Two veterans visit Washington memorials for the first time.
Hudson Valley Honor Flight – a national nonprofit hat works to honor American Veterans – will will mark the 70th anniversary of VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) on May 9 by flying over 70 New York area veterans to Washington D.C. on a trip being financed by Mr Gural.
“It is an honor and a pleasure to help these heroic men and women see how their sacrifice and service is valued by the nation,” said Mr. Gural. “Every day the United States is losing more and more veterans who have not had the opportunity to see the World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. and it is important for them to experience.”
The May 9th flight will host many notable World War II veterans, including three of the original Tuskegee Airman (the first African American military aviators in the United States Armed Forces); a soldier from the 101st Airborne division who jumped into Germany the day after D-Day; two women veterans; and one of the nation’s oldest living veterans who, at 105 years of age, still holds a job as an entertainer.
Hudson Valley Honor Flight arranges one-day, all-expense-paid journeys for veterans that include visits to the World War II and Iwo Jima Memorial, as well as attendance at the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
In addition, Honor Flight organizes celebrations at the morning send-off and home-coming, gathering volunteers from neighboring counties to cheer the veterans and thank them for their service to the nation.
The May 9 flight will depart from Westchester County Airport.
To join in the send-off and welcome home celebrations, or to contribute to future Honor Flight journeys, please visit www.hvhonorflight.com or call 845-391-0076.
