Three members of the Greeneville Lions Club were aboard the inaugural trip for veterans to Washington, D.C., sponsored by Honor Flight of Northeast Tennessee.

A total of 23 World War II veterans and two Korean War veterans made the October trip.

The Lions Club members on the trip were World War II veterans Glenn Broyles and Charles H. Worley; and John T. Hicks, a Vietnam War veteran.

Honor Flights, which are free, transport U.S. veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.

The flights by the Honor Flight Network give top priority to the nation's most senior veterans -- with high priority to the rapidly shrinking ranks of the World War II generation -- and the terminally ill of all ages.

The nation's inaugural Honor Flight was in 2005, a year after completion of the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.

All men and women who served overseas or stateside in the U.S. Armed Forces during any period of time are eligible for Honor Flights.

According to information provided by the Lions Club, the group from Northeast Tennessee left Johnson City on Oct. 12 and proceeded to Bedford, Va., to see the National D-Day Memorial.

From there, they traveled to Springfield, Va., where they stayed overnight.

Early on Saturday morning, they proceeded to the World War II Memorial, where a ceremony was conducted honoring Tennesseans from Northeast Tennessee who died in service during World War II and since then.

A wreath was placed in front of the Tennessee pillar (all 50 states and American territories have a pillar) and a short ceremony and prayers were given.

The pictures of Arthur C. Phillips and his brother, Ralph G. Phillips, of Greeneville, who died in combat, were on the wreath.

Many people who were at the memorial stopped and watched as the solemn ceremony was conducted.

Next on the trip was the Korean War Memorial.

From there, the group proceeded to the Vietnam Memorial Wall, where another ceremony was held to honor Northeast Tennesseans who gave their lives in Vietnam.

The group then visited the Marine Corps Memorial, where a Marine from the Northeast Tennesse group met a Marine from Oregon who had taken part in the invasion of Iwo Jima in February 1945.

Arlington National Cemetery was the next stop.

The group witnessed the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Then, the group witnessed the President of the Northeast Tennessee Hub of the National Honor Flight organization, Eddie Lowery, and 95-year-old Lonnie Law, present a wreath in the name of all Tennesseans lost in all wars.

None of the World War II veterans on the trip had seen the Washington memorials, and all were grateful for the trip.

Each veteran on the trip was escorted by a guardian who stayed with him at all times.

The full history of the program, and detailed information about the Honor Flight Network, can be found at http://www.honorflight.org