Nevada veterans get unexpected thank you at Korean War Memorial during Honor Flight

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Korean War veterans from Nevada laid a wreath at the Korean War Veterans Memorial in a recent honor flight to Washington D.C.

And while at the memorial, they heard some unexpected words from the President of the Korean War Veterans Memorial Foundation, Steve Lee.

“Thank you for all that you did in the defense of South Korea all those decades ago. What you did for a country that you didn’t know and a people you didn’t know, was you saved them, changed their history and you made America better. It is as simple and as profound as that,” said Steve Lee.

“I can’t explain it in words, but it means so much to me that the people think that much of us for what we did. And we thank God that he brought us through it, brought us back to where we can be here today,” said Korean War veteran Matthew Harville.

The group later toured the 9/11 Memorial where a plane hit the Pentagon. There are 184 memorial benches with reflecting pools to remember the people killed on the plane and inside the Pentagon.

“This is the first time I’ve gotten to see the memorial. And it’s very moving. It really is. It brings back memories,” said John Ottery.

Ottery was an Honor Flight guardian on the trip with Honor Flight Southern Nevada. Guardians are paired with a veteran the entire trip.

Ottery was working in D.C. on 9/11 and was supposed to be at the Pentagon for a meeting. But he did not go to the Pentagon because the meeting was canceled.

He says a couple of his friends were also set to be at the meeting, which was not in the area where the plane hit. His friends stayed in the Pentagon and ended up in the same location where the plane struck the Pentagon. Both of Ottery’s friends died, including Navy Lt. Commander Eric Cranford, a helicopter pilot who served two tours in the Persian Gulf. Also killed was Lt. Scott Lamana, who helped monitor the Navy’s global fleet in the Pentagon’s Navy Command Center.

“Good guy, young guy with a family, just kind of starting out. Doing what the Navy asked him to do. Just another day on the job,” said Ottery.

The group also visited the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery along with several other memorials.

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