PHOTOS: Looking back at Nebraska Purple Heart honor flight
National Purple Heart Day is marked annually Aug. 7.
The Purple Heart, the oldest military award still in use, is awarded to service members who are killed or wounded while engaging in enemy action or resulting from acts of terrorism. According to the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor, more than 1.8 million medals were presented since the award's inception in 1782.
Honor flight
JoAnn Kuester of York lays flowers at her son's grave at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday. Jeffrey Garber suffered a heart attack while aboard the USS Eisenhower in June 2009.
Honor flight
Korean War US Army veteran Vernon Schaecher, 89, of Lindsey, Nebraska, pauses for a rest while touring Section 60, at Arlington National Cemetery, where the fallen of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
A single rose is left at the Nebraska section of the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.Â
Honor flight
State Sen. Tom Brewer, who served numerous tours in Afghanistan, pauses to reflect at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on Friday.
Honor flight
USMC Cpl. Ross Wimer (ret.) of West Point, Nebraska and his dog Madison look for the gravestone of a platoon mate from his service in Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Korean War US Army veteran Vernon Schaecher, 89, of Lindsey, Nebraska, pauses for a rest as he chats with a visitor while touring Section 60, at Arlington National Cemetery, where the fallen of Iraq and Afghanistan are buried, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Anton Haas Jr. of Papillion, a veteran of the Korean War, watches a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknowns on Friday at Arlington National Cemetery.
Honor flight
Vietnam veterans Jerry Furr (left) and Dan Raymond (middle), both of Bellevue, Nebraska, and Afghanistan veteran Seth Kotouc (right) of Underwood, Iowa watch a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
US Army veteran Ed O'Neill of Fremont, Nebraska (left), who lost a leg in the Iraq War pauses at the USMC Iwo Jima War Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Ray Stofer (left) of Hickman, Nebraska, whose father, Rudy, was killed in WWII, visits the USMC Iwo Jima War Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Robert Tobin of Lincoln, who was wounded in the Iraq War, pauses at the U.S. Marine Corps Iwo Jima War Memorial on Friday.
Honor flight
JoAnn Kuester of York, Nebraska places a rose on the gravestone of her US Navy son, Jeffrey Garber, at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. Garber suffered a heart attack while aboard the USS Eisenhower in June 2009. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
USMC Cpl. Ross Wimer (ret.) of West Point, Nebraska and his dog Madison look for the gravestone of a platoon mate from his service in Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Gold Star son Dillon Prange, 13, (left) of Hickman, Nebraska, who lost his father US Army SSgt Benjamin Prange in Afghanistan, and Korean War veteran Vernon Schaecher, 89, of Lindsey, Nebraska (in wheelchair) watch a ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Arlington National Cemetery on Friday in Arlington, Va. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day.Â
Honor flight
A Nebraska visitor salutes as he is welcomed at Ronald Reagan National Airport on Friday in Alexandria, Va. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day.Â
Honor flight
JoAnn Kuester of York, Nebraska searches for the gravestone of her US Navy son, Jeffrey Garber, at Arlington National Cemetery, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. Garber suffered a heart attack while aboard the USS Eisenhower in June 2009. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
US Army veteran Justin Anderson of Bellevue shows off his prosthetic leg, the result of injuries suffered in the Iraq War, during a break at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight included more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members visiting memorials and monuments in the nation's capital.
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Military veterans, Purple Heart awardees and Gold Star Family memeers pose for a group photo at the Lincoln Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Washington, DC. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 visitors for tours of Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
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Vietnam veteran Randy Marshall of Omaha, Nebraska, who served with the US Army, carries two roses as he looks at the names of the fallen at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Washington, DC. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
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Vietnam veteran Rhea Larsen of Bennington, Nebraska, who served in the Gulf of Tonkin with the US Navy, makes a rubbing of the name of a family member at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Washington, DC. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
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Bill Robinson, a USAF veteran of both Vietnam and Desert Storm, of Bellevue, Nebraska walks along the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Washington, DC. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
Honor flight
Nate Maher, 5, of Council Bluffs, Iowa, who lost his father, Iowa National Guard Sgt. Brent Maher, in Afghanistan, pauses at a bench at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial on Friday.
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US Amy veteran Tom Brewer of Murdock, Nebraska, (center), who served numerous tours in Afghanistan chats with US Army Vietnam veteran Greg Holloway of Bee, (left), as USMC Iraq War veteran Wade Jensen of Bellevue sits at the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Arlington, Virginia. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
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(left to right) US Army Vietnam veterans Gary Garrison of McCool Junction and Greg Holloway of Bee, chat with fellow US Army veteran Justin Anderson of Bellevue, who lost his leg in Iraq, during a visit to the World War II Memorial, May 24, 2019, in Washington, DC. The Nebraska Purple Heart Honor Flight delivered more than 125 veterans and Gold Star family members to visit Arlington National Cemetery and memorials and monuments in the nation's capital for a day. MIKE THEILER For the Journal Star
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