Honor Flight Omaha and The Home Front
On Tuesday, March 25, 2014, a group of over 450 Korean War veterans flew to our nation’s capital to see memorials to their service and to that of US veterans of all wars. They were accompanied by volunteer aides and a few spouses, children or grandchildren. The trip was an all-expenses-paid excursion to see the magnificent, soul-stirring monuments that honor them, their brothers/sisters-in-arms and our Founders. Tuesday’s trip was just the most recent of a series of Honor Flights, and it was an honor indeed to play a supporting role in this worthy effort, organized by Bill and Yvonne Williams.Before dawn, 3 buses, code-named Red, White and Blue left the Ramada Plaza for Eppley Airfield and a whirlwind round-trip tour of Washington D.C. About 400 spouses, children and grandchildren remained in Omaha at The Home Front (Ramada Plaza) waiting for their loved ones to return after a long, exhausting but exhilarating day in D. C.
Honor Flight sign
Midwest Sound & Lighting took great pleasure in providing crystal-clear sound for the Home Front activities, which included ongoing status updates on the Vets’ day in Washington, subsequent plane departure times and some excellent musical and comedic entertainment by the vocal duo “Deja Blue”.
At about 7:15 pm, a strange woman called “Grace Fully” emerged from a side door with a purple wig, a fur shawl, a wireless microphone and a lot of attitude. “Grace” (Deja Blue’s Pam Kragt) had the crowd laughing along as she poked fun at aging and told several hilarious stories and jokes.
Following a quick change in apparel, Pam and her partner Diane Thomas took the stage as “Deja Blue” and sang songs of many years ago that alternately tugged at heart-strings and made us chuckle. Deja Blue ended their wonderful performance with a rousing, sing-along version of America the Beautiful, with every soul who could stand on their feet and singing.
As organizers announced, “The Red plane is airborne; the White and Blue planes will be leaving soon”, the Home Front crowd began to board their buses to greet their beloved heroes at Eppley Airfield, wrapping up the events at Ramada Plaza. Midwest Sound was truly honored to be a part of this celebration of American Heroes and thanks all veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice for our great country.