After a whirlwind day packed with visits with other veterans, trips to multiple national memorials and monuments and a brief reunion with his brother, Fulton veteran Eddie Garriott said the best part of his recent Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C. was the return to Columbia.
Garriott was one of the first Korean War veterans from Callaway to participate in the program which aims to ensure all veterans have the opportunity to see their memorials in person, with an emphasis on World War II service men and women.
"I wanted to see Arlington and the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and all the monuments," said Garriott, who first applied to go last year. "The Korean War Memorial is really neat, they way they've got (bronze statues of soldiers) out in the field like they're on patrol.
"The greatest thing was the reception when we got back. There were so many people that showed up, it was pretty exciting."
"He won't say it, but about every one of those 60 (veterans) getting off the bus had tears in their eyes," Garriott's wife, Maxine, interjected. "Everybody was crying when they got off the buses. To me, it was an honor for him to go."
Garriott, 80, served in the U.S. Army from January 1952 to January 1954.