Honor Flight prepares to send first all female veteran group to DC

After years of serving her country, Silvia Johnson is finally getting the opportunity to visit the capitol of the nation she proudly defended.

"It's important to me because as a veteran, a female veteran at that, I wanted to know what I was really a part of," Johnson, a Vietnam Era veteran, said.

Johnson will be part of the first all female veteran honor flight set to leave for Washington DC in October. A trip that Allen Bergeron said is long overdue.

"You know the female veterans often get overlooked. A friend of mine told me that someone noticed a purple heart license plate and said 'tell your husband thank you for his service' and she said 'no, that's mine.' It's a big deal for us it's a way of saying thank you to our ladies from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam," Bergeron, of Honor Flight Austin, said.

Honor Flight is also sending a second group of veterans to DC later this month including one of the last surviving Tuskegee Airman, 92-year-old Granville Coggs

"I recognize that God has arranged this and I'm overwhelmed and humbled by being part of this," Coggs said.

It is an opportunity that Johnson said all veterans should experience.

"I feel that every veteran should get an opportunity to go on an Honor Flight trip and visit the Capitol of our nation and explore and see what it is that we are a great part of," Johnson said.

The historic flight is scheduled to leave on October 7th. More than 25 female veterans are scheduled to travel.

For more information on Honor Flight and how you can help a veteran, you can go to their website at HonorFlightAustin.org.