SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Over 80 veterans from around the area participated in the Honor Flight of the Ozarks to visit Washington D.C.

KOLR 10 spoke to a couple of veterans who say while they’re excited to visit our nation’s capital, what they’re really excited to see is some of the familiar names on some of the memorials.

“There’s a list of names on the Vietnam Wall that I was with them and the guy just missed me,“ said Vietnam War veteran Clinton Caszatt. 

For Vietnam veterans like Clinton Caszatt and Steve Shanholtzer, this trip means so much to them because they fought alongside some of the men and women whose names are now on the memorial walls. 

Veterans from across the Ozarks will visit the World War II and Korean War Memorials, the Vietnam War Memorial Wall, and the Arlington National Cemetery. 

A couple of years ago, Caszatt visited the memorials with his father and he said he’s grateful for the opportunity to go back.

“Actually I went to the memorial a few years ago with my dad and it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done was to walk up to that wall and look… it brings a lot of memories, ” said Caszatt.

Visiting our nation’s capital for the first time with his son as his guardian, Vietnam veteran Steve Shanholtzer said he looks forward to paying his respects. 

“My great-grandfather served in the Civil War and my dad volunteered and listed in World War II and I enlisted to serve in Vietnam, so our family comes from a long history of service to our country,“ said Shanholtzer. 

All of this was made possible by the Honor Flight of the Ozarks, one of the over 100 hubs across 43 states that take veterans to D.C.

The veterans will be returning back from Washington D.C. around 10 p.m. tonight where they will have family and friends waiting to welcome them home.