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COURTESY PHOTOGRAPHY Tour of Honor Honor Flight San Diego pays tribute to local veterans W e can't all be heroes," Will Rogers once wrote. "Somebody has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by." I learned the importance of those words recently while covering an Honor Flight San Diego trip to Washington, D.C., to celebrate our veterans. I was born into a U.S. Air Force family, the daughter of an Air Force officer who served in both World War II and Vietnam, the sister of two Air Force veterans, and the wife of a retired Air Force pilot and Vietnam veteran. I know what it means, and the sacrifice it takes, for veterans and their families to serve our country in both war and peace. So, it was a special privilege to travel to our nation's capital in April, meeting many of the 90 veterans who were honored. eir flights, hotels, meals, and tours of memorials and monuments were free thanks to Honor Flight San Diego. e nonprofit, founded by Dave Smith in 2010, which is part of a nationwide network of more than 129 chapters in the United States, is staffed by a small army including Chairman Julie Brightwell, 13 board members, and key volunteers. Both Smith and Brightwell got involved after taking their own fathers, both World War II veterans, on Honor Flights over the years. Since then, the San Diego hub has flown more than 2,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. "An Honor Flight is a healing, life-extending opportunity for our veterans," Brightwell says. "We offer them an opportunity to make connections and share their stories with other veterans, their own families, our volunteers, and our San Diego community. e veterans see that their service did matter, and the nation is indeed grateful." On the eve of the flight, many of the honorees and their escorts, known as guardians or "battle buddies," mingled at a get-together at the Doubletree by Hilton Bayside near the airport. ere, in a surprise announcement, we learned that Sue Busby of Del Cerro, who turns 92 in June, had donated more than $300,000 to underwrite the entire flight, hotel rooms, meals, and bus transportation for all of the veterans. "Why?" I asked. "We love the USA," she told me of her patriotic family that includes daughter Elizabeth, who was a guardian on the flight for 84-year-old Bob omas, a former member of the U.S. Army's Special Forces known as the Green Berets. BY ANDREA NAVERSEN detour destinations The Red Team was one of three groups of veterans and volunteers who traveled to Washington, D.C. courtesy of San Diego Honor Flight ranchandcoast.com 82 JUNE 2025 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE