Everything you do matters, volunteers. We are so grateful! Best wishes to Mr. Thomaschek and his new family!

In between greetings this week, please take a few minutes to visit our BRAND NEW Honor Flight DCA display case at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport! You can find the case right outside the USO. We are hoping this new case will help us recruit new volunteers to help us welcome our Veterans to DC!

Easily accessible in downtown New Orleans, the National WWII Museum (http://www.nationalww2museum.org/visit/index.html) provides a personal and educational view of America’s participation in WWII and the individuals of the greatest generation whose stories reside there. The museum opened on June 6, 2000—the 56^th anniversary of D-Day and currently fills 3 buildings, and is growing. Nearly half a million visitors experienced the museum in 2014.

The museum successfully combines the big picture—events leading up to America entering the war, American leadership and decision-making, hour-by-hour accounts of the D-Day invasion, the Pacific conflict; weaponry, planes, and boats of that era; and countless moving personal stories and artifacts—photographs, uniforms, letters, medals. This is an emotional and powerful museum—filled with personal stories and voices, through interviews and newsreels of the time. It feels like no room is empty—the Veterans’ voices and presence are everywhere.

If you’re asking yourself why this museum is in New Orleans, it’s because that’s the home of Higgins Industries, makers of the LCVP landing craft—the key element in the amphibious assaults of WWII. So important was the role of these landing craft that Dwight Eisenhower credited Andrew Jackson Higgins with being “the man who won the war for us.”

To hear the stories of individuals who were part of WWII, go to http://www.ww2online.org/browse and read what these Veterans and others have to say in short, filmed statements and interviews.

And it’s worth a trip to New Orleans just to spend several hours in this truly exceptional museum.

Brig. Gen. Wilma Vaught, President Emeritus of the Women’s Memorial Foundation, was center stage March 2 as Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the First Lady, and Dr. Jill Biden kicked off Women’s History Month 2016. The event, which honored the service of America’s women veterans, paid particular tribute to Brig. Gen. Vaught and her nearly sixty years of service to the nation, first as an Air Force officer and later as President of the Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation. Fittingly held in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall, which features sculptures of prominent Americans, more than 500 guests gathered to honor this extraordinary woman—our very own Wilma Vaught! Those of us privileged to attend were bursting with pride. While each speakers’ remarks were fitting and good, it was the classic performance of Brig. Gen. Vaught that stole the show. Thanks to C-SPAN, we are able to share this terrific event with you. The entire program is worthy of your time (available at http://www.c-span.org/video/?405855-1/womens-history-month-reception). But if that’s not possible, treat yourself to the words of Brig. Gen. Vaught as she honors the contributions of America’s military women with her own story of service (available at http://www.c-span.org/video/?c4583810/brig-gen-wilma-vaught).

Do you like to sing, play instruments, or dance?

We need YOU to join us at Honor Flight arrival greetings this spring at DCA!

No matter if you are an amateur or a professional, we need your help to welcome our Veterans to DC on their Honor Flights. The entertainment adds so much to the airport atmosphere when they arrive — it truly is a wonderful way to start the day!

Do you have a talent you can share? Are you available for one of our spring flights <HonorFlightDCA.com/schedule>?

Please contact Patricia <pharris581@aol.com> to find out more!

Did you know that Gottaswing, who our fantastic airport Swing Dancers support, raises funds for Honor Flight Network and Lucky Dog Animal Rescue at their Annual ‘Have a Heart Hop and Silent Auction’?

Want to know how you can help? Come join Gottaswing at the Washington Dulles Hilton this Friday night, February 12th from 8-12 pm. Enjoy a group dance lesson, 3 hours of great live music, over 400 wonderful silent auction items, a 50-50 raffle and to top it all off, candlelight desserts.

The next Guardian Training will take place on Tuesday, February 2nd at 6:30 pm at the Westover Branch of Arlington Public Libraries. The address is:  1644 N. McKinley Rd., Arlington, VA 22205.

Please Email Laura at honorflightguardians@gmail.com if you would like to attend. There is a maximum capacity for the room and we need to prepare materials ahead of time.

More information about our guardian training sessions can be found on the Upcoming Trainings and Guardian Opportunities page (go to Volunteers, then Guardians and Floaters to see access this page).

We are excited to announce that our Veterans will be back at DCA starting Saturday, April 2! Please keep an eye on our schedule for updates and edits over the next few months!

Many Honor Flight volunteers joined us in December to participate in National Wreaths Across America Day and helped to lay wreaths on thousands of graves at Arlington National Cemetery. Please join us to help clean up the wreaths on Saturday, January 23, 2016!

If you’re interested in volunteering, JUST SHOW UP! We need volunteers — even more than we did in December!!

– Taking Metro is advised. Only vehicles with Permanent Arlington National Cemetery Family Gravesite Passes and those with valid Handicap Permits will be allowed to park in the visitors lot at Arlington. You can either take the Blue Line to the Arlington National Cemetery stop, or you can take the Silver, Orange, or Blue Lines to Rosslyn and walk about 1 mi.

– A map of the cemetery and surrounding area is here: http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/ANCExplorer if you want a pick a section to meet your friends.

– At 8:30 a.m., there will be a brief instructional briefing at the McClellan Arch, which is located on McClellan Drive and off Eisenhower Drive (between Sections 33 and 12). Wreath clean-up will begin at about 8:45 a.m.

– We will be asked to pick up ONLY THOSE WREATHS placed by Wreaths Across America and leave any other wreaths and decorations in place. Dumpsters will be dispersed throughout the cemetery, where we will dispose of the wreaths we remove.

– Volunteers have found it helpful to bring long broomsticks, rakes, ropes, or poles of some sort, to thread multiple wreaths on at the same time and carry them to the dumpsters. (Last year, I brought my telescoping snow brush from my car, and that worked well!)

– You’re encouraged to wear gloves and waterproof footwear.