Hudson Valley Honor Flight Mission 38 Celebrates Veterans at Stewart Airport

‘Thank you for serving. That’s a big deal, even in my case, 60 years late,’ one veteran said.

Orange County Legislator Jonathan Redeker holds a sign at Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., on April 11, 2026. Oliver Mantyk/The Epoch Times

MIDDLETOWN, N.Y.—Friends and family cheered in the Stewart International Airport luggage claim area as 80 veterans returned from a day-long trip to Washington, giving them the welcome home some veterans never got.

The group of four Korean War veterans, seven Cold War veterans, and 69 Vietnam and Vietnam-era veterans set off by air from Stewart Airport at about 6:30 a.m. on April 11, each with someone they chose to bring along as their guardian.