To paraphrase, everyone in nearby gates mobbed Gate 38, hundreds of people. And they stood and clapped and cheered these old vets off the plane for 20 minutes.. . .something happened on May 23, 2012 at 9:31 a.m. at Gate 38 of Reagan National Airport that might change that. A flash mob of sorts broke out. But not like you’ve seen on YouTube with highly choreographed dance numbers or people singing a song in unison. In fact, virtually all of the participants of this “flash mob” didn’t know they would be participating until moments before it happened.
Let me explain. Shortly before 9:30 over the loud speakers, a US Airways gate attendant announced that an Honor Flight of World War II veterans would be arriving momentarily and encouraged anyone passing by to help greet them. Five or six people looked like they were officially part of the welcoming committee, and the rest of the people in the secure section of the airport were regular old travelers going somewhere. Then I had a terrible thought. What if these veterans came off the plane and just those five or six individuals were there to greet them. I walked a gate over to help see the veterans out.
The video is pretty moving, although I would have preferred to hear the actual clapping instead of a music soundtrack.
When I was a kid, it seemed like every Dad in the neighborhood was a WWII veteran. Most of them have passed on, including all my family members. Not many left.
I remember my Mom telling me that she remembers the last of the Civil War veterans in the Memorial Day parade when she was a girl in the 1930's. It won't be long before we are talking about the last of the WWII veterans.
