A flurry of red, white and blue filled the Salina Airport Authority's M.J. Kennedy Terminal Building parking lot as leather-clad bikers with Old Glory proudly waving behind them escorted a bus filled with more than 30 WWII veterans and their spouses headed to Washington, D.C., today.
 
The group, escorted by the American Legion Riders, is part of the Honor Flight Network.  The Network's mission is to "transport America's veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices."
 
The group will spend two days in the nation's capital touring the National WWII Memorial and other national monuments and museums. 
 
"We are losing over a thousand of these veterans every day," said the Airport's manager of operations and retired Marine, David "Gunner" Wiles.  "Many of these men would have never seen their memorial, if it weren't for the Honor Flight Network and we're honored to be able to take part."
 
The group is slated to return to the Salina Airport Friday around 6 p.m. 

The public is invited and encouraged to show their appreciation for the former soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines of "the Greatest Generation" during a welcome back reception at the terminal building parking lot, Friday at 6 p.m.
 
With Veteran's Day right around the corner it's important to remember not only the young men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan but previous generations who have paved the way for the "land of the free and the home of the brave."