See coverage from the Tallahassee Democrat
Article — Veterans gather for ‘Last Mission’: http://www.tallahassee.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2014/06/05/honor-flight/10044049/
Photo Gallery: http://www.tallahassee.com/picture-gallery/news/local/2014/06/05/honor-flight/10044049/D-Day 70th Anniversary Commemoration Features “Honor Flight”
~ The James Madison Institute, the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee and Honor Flight Tallahassee partner to offer public event to heighten awareness of the “Honor Flight” mission ~TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The evening before the 70th Anniversary of D-Day, The James Madison Institute (JMI), the Challenger Learning Center of Tallahassee (CLC), and Honor Flight Tallahassee organized a commemoration of this day in history with a showing of the documentary “Honor Flight: One Last Mission” on Thursday, June 5. The film follows a community effort to send thousands of World War II (WWII) veterans to visit Washington, D.C. and the memorial built to honor their service.“We could never truly put into words our gratitude for the sacrifices made by these brave World War II veterans to protect our freedoms. However, through action, many communities across the country have worked hard to show their appreciation. It’s an honor that we’re able to share that story here today,” said Dr. Bob McClure, JMI president and CEO during his opening remarks at the event. “We are very appreciative of the Challenger Learning Center and Honor Flight Tallahassee for their dedication to this cause and for helping us make this event a reality.”Non-profits all over the nation have committed to sending U.S. military veterans on Honor Flights to see the memorials of the respective war(s) they fought in at no cost to the veterans. The first Honor Flight took place in May 2005 and was focused on veterans of WWII. The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit that works with local chapters and various subgroups to help make the Honor Flights a possibility.The event also featured a short film about WWII by three Tallahassee students who won first place in the Junior Group Documentary division of the Florida History Fair. These three students – Josh Ciarlariello, Joshua Macri and Evan Bouck – will compete later this month at the National History Day Contest in College Park, Md.”My friends and I were really interested in the history fair this year,” Ciarlariello said in a recent Tallahassee Democrat article. “We wanted to do something about Hiroshima (Japan). The theme this year was rights and responsibilities so we wanted to do something about the rights of the U.S. in dropping the atomic bomb.”After the screening of the two films, JMI held a short question-and-answer segment featuring Tallahassee area WWII vet Lacy Arnold, along with Honor Flight Tallahassee’s Mac Kemp. Arnold described what it meant for him to take an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. Kemp discussed how the local organization, Honor Flight Tallahassee, got started and described their efforts.The evening showing of these two films are part of JMI’s “Celebrate Freedom” summer film series housed under JMI’s Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for American Ideals. For more information on JMI visit www.jamesmadison.org.###Trusted Solutions for a Better Florida: Founded in 1987, The James Madison Institute (JMI) is one of Florida’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit research and educational organization. JMI is dedicated to advancing such ideals as economic freedom, limited government, federalism, traditional values, the rule of law, and individual liberty coupled with individual responsibility. All JMI publications are available online at www.jamesmadison.org.
2014
