The Iroquois County Republican Women's Club sponsored Ed Hubert on a recent Honor Flight August 7, 2013, to view the World War II memorial in Washington DC. Ed's son Jim accompanied Ed as his guardian for the day.

On the flight back to Midway Airport during "Mail Call", Ed received many letters from several Iroquois County grade school students, American Legion Auxiliary Illini Girls' State participants and family members thanking him for his military service. Legionnaires from the Gilman American Legion Post 499, as well as several family members were on hand to greet Ed when he landed. Family and veterans from Gilman welcoming Mr. Hubert home described the celebration with one word, "Wow!" When Mr. Hubert was asked what he enjoyed the most about the trip his comment was the welcome home celebration. He stated, "I've never seen anything like it in my life; this beats all!" As the crowd waited for the plane to arrive, they were entertained by a brass band fanfare. The Patriot Guard lined up and various Boy and Girl Scout troups carried signs announcing the arrival time of the 91 veterans. The crowd consisted of family members, area veterans and Honor Flight volunteers to name a few. Upon arrival the World War II veterans were escorted through the assembled line by servicemen from the Great Lakes Navel Academy.

The World War II Memorial was dedicated in May of 2004. Due to the advancing age of the "Greatest Generation", many of the 16 million men and women who served during World War II never had the opportunity to see their memorial. Honor Flight was formed in order to see that as many World War II veterans would have the opportunity to see their memorial as possible. Thanks to the many volunteers and contributors, Honor Flight is able to fly the veterans to Washington DC for a full day of touring not only the World War II memorial but several of the other war memorials located on the National Mall.

The American veteran is one of our greatest treasures... those men and women who answered our nation's call, especially at times of our greatest need. The Iroquois County Republican Women were proud to sponsor Ed and Jim Hubert on the Honor Flight. As a grateful country it is our job to honor and thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice.

94.1 FM, WGFA