ATLANTA, GA (November 5, 2012) -- Sixty WWII veterans visited their national memorial in Washington, D.C. on October 10 through the support of the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage CARES® Foundation of Atlanta, the sole sponsor of the trip, and the Roswell Rotary Club.  

This is the fifth annual “Honor Air” event, and its goal is to honor as many World War II veterans as possible by giving them a completely free day trip to visit the World War II memorial in our nation’s capital.  The trip costs approximately $40,000.

Coldwell Banker staff and associates as well as the Roswell Rotarians accompanied the veterans to Washington.  “We’re thankful for the opportunity to be a part of this celebration, and we’re humbled by the experience.  The WWII veterans were deeply moved by the trip, and so were we,” said Charlotte Sears, president of Atlanta CBRB.

“Many of the men and women who fought and sacrificed for our country have not had the opportunity or the financial ability to visit their own memorial, so we are trying to give them that opportunity,” said Gene Beckman from the Roswell Rotary Club.

The plane landed at Reagan National Airport and everyone was surprised to see that a large crowd had assembled in the gate area.  They applauded, cheered and waved at the vets, showing their gratitude.  “It made us feel what it was like to be a homecoming hero.  None of the men thought of themselves as heroes, but it gave us a warm sense of being respected for what we had sacrificed,” said James F. Sanders, one of the WWII veterans on the trip. 

The first stop on their Washington, D.C. tour was the World War II Memorial, where the vets posed before its 56 pillars.

Next was the Lincoln Memorial, a central location between the Korean War Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial.  The group made their way through these important monuments, remembering the young men and women that America sent overseas to fight for our freedom.

The group continued on to Arlington National Cemetery, where thousands of headstones mark the final resting place of the heroes that served our country.  Everyone witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers before continuing to their final stop, the Iwo Jima Memorial honoring the nations' Marine Corps.

Then it was back on the bus for the trip to the airport, and the flight back to Atlanta.

Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage appreciates its local veterans and is proud to support the nonprofit Honor Air organization. 

Since its inception, the Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage CARES foundation has raised more than $1 million for nonprofit educational, health, welfare, environmental and cultural arts organizations in our communities. Throughout Atlanta, the Coldwell Banker team raises funds through donations from sales commissions, employee payroll deductions, golf tournaments, auctions, bowl-a-thons and other fundraisers.

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