Campus News

Join us to Celebrate the Homecoming of UK Honor Flight Veterans

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 15, 2017) — This Armed Forces Day, Kentuckians throughout the Commonwealth are invited to join the University of Kentucky in welcoming home our veterans returning from the UK Honor Flight.

On Saturday, May 20, UK will be the first university in the nation to sponsor an Honor Flight, sending nearly 70 veterans on an all-expense paid trip to visit memorials in Washington, D.C. Many of the veterans on the flight are affiliated with UK, including alumni, retirees and family members of current UK faculty and staff.

“For more than a decade, the Honor Flight program has transported more than 100,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. and this flight marks the first such opportunity for a university to show its gratitude to our veterans for their service and sacrifice,” said President Eli Capilouto. “As the first university to sponsor such a flight, we’re honored to be able to provide this opportunity to many members of the UK family. Their service to the global cause of freedom is humbling, and the entire Big Blue Nation thanks them for their courage and patriotism.”

The flight will return to Blue Grass Airport, at 4000 Terminal Dr. in Lexington, around 9 p.m. Saturday. Those wishing to welcome and celebrate the veterans as they arrive are encouraged to be in the airport lobby at 8 p.m.

Veterans and their guardians, along with UK President Eli Capilouto, Veterans Resource Center Director Tony Dotson and Honor Flight Kentucky representatives will board the flight from Lexington at 7:15 Saturday morning. Several UK groups, including UK Police officers, will be on hand at the airport to support the day's events.

While in D.C., World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans will visit the Iwo Jima Memorial (Marine Corps War Memorial), Women In Military Service For America Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, National World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial and Air Force Memorial. The day will also include a bus tour of Capitol Hill.

For more information or any questions, contact vetcenter@uky.edu