With the number of surviving World War II veterans on the decline, it was quite a feat for seven WWII veterans from The Garlands of Barrington to take an Honor Flight Trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the WWII Memorial together on July 11.

They arrived to the airport prepared mentally and physically for what promised to be an action-packed and emotional day visiting the National WWII Memorial and touring the nation’s capital.

This all-expense-paid trip was provided courtesy of Honor Flight Chicago and arranged by The Garlands of Barrington. They boarded the plane at dawn at Midway Airport and flew to Washington, D.C., where they spent the day touring with the help of volunteers and then returned home at night to a heroes’ welcome.