By Graham Sweeney
What started as one man’s wish to visit the National World War II Memorial, turned into the main mission for Forever Young Veterans of Collierville.
Many of the WWII veterans had not witnessed the monument that stands in their honor. The memorial wasn’t complete until 2004.
By then, the trip to Washington, D.C. was too difficult for these elderly veterans to take on their own.
Forever Young now takes several trips per year for WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veterans.
“Let’s not forget what our senior veterans did for our country 50, 60, even 75 years ago,” said Diane Hight, who founded Forever Young in 2006. “These brave men and women served our country faithfully and many still carry the weight of war. Much to our surprise, we found it still affects their everyday life.
“Many of these heroes are now retired and their minds are going back to their service and they’re struggling more than ever. Together, we can free them from the stress of combat and bring them the honor, healing, and hope they need and deserve, at no cost to our veterans.”
Hight founded Forever Young because of her love for seniors. The organization has given her the opportunity to show the importance of those who have given so much. She is an active member at Central Church and also “loves snow skiing and boating.”
In the past, veterans have been able to acknowledge the 75th anniversary of D-Day and attend the commemoration ceremonies in Normandy.
Fourteen veterans, ranging in ages from 93-102, were honored by people from all around the world, grateful for what these heroes did during WWII.
In 2017, England was the destination for several veterans who had previously trained before fighting the Germans through Western Europe.
For some, they launched bombing attacks over France and Germany from the UK.
“It was a wonderful journey back for these 11 veterans to see, once again, where they spent much of their time in WWII,” said Hight.
We made visits to the Cambridge American Cemetery, Churchill’s War Rooms, the Duxford Air Show, and many more.In 2023, veterans will travel to Washington, D.C. in May and October, and Pearl Harbor in July.
Previous trips have included:
Washington D.C.
Normandy
Belgium
Pearl Harbor
Germany
Vietnam
England
Italy
South Korea
