War vet takes to Twitter on honor flight

• Vets came to Washington to see several war memorials
• The men were flown to nation%27s capital by Honor Flight Bluegrass at no charge
• The group was scheduled to meet at the World War II Memorial with some members of Congress

WASHINGTON -- Veteran Hal Miller is celebrating the 69th anniversary of D-Day in a very modern way: He's tweeting about a visit by 30 Kentucky and Indiana veterans from World War II and the Korean War to the nation's capital on Thursday to see memorials built to honor their service.

"What a welcome we got at the airport! So nice to see our service members here to say hi!" Hal Miller, 89, of Owensboro, Ky., tweeted after the veterans landed at Thurgood Marshall Baltimore-Washington International Airport. Miller was with the Army's 297th Combat Engineers and was on Utah Beach in Normandy on D-Day.

Another veteran, Charles Herd of Louisville, Ky., was also tweeting from the flight. He is 91 and a World War II Veteran from the 84th Infantry, according to his Twitter profile.

The soldiers, sailors and airmen were being flown to Washington by Honor Flight Bluegrass, which provides transportation for the veterans and their guardians at no charge. The trip is being funded through a donation from Ford Motor Co.

The group will visit the National World War II Memorial on the National Mall, the Korean War Veterans Memorial near the Lincoln Memorial and the Marine Corps War Memorial (also known as the Iwo Jima Memorial) on the edge of Arlington National Cemetery.

The veterans also are slated to meet at the World War II Memorial with some members of Congress, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Rep. John Yarmuth, D-Louisville.

"My father served in World War II, and it is an honor to shake hands with his contemporaries, hear their stories, and thank them for their service," McConnell said on the Senate floor Thursday.

"As World War II recedes further into the past, sadly, we are losing more of these living legends," the senator said. "We've just had to say goodbye to our good friend Senator Frank Lautenberg, the last World War II veteran to serve in this body. The passage of time makes it all the more important that we thank these heroes for their service before it's too late."

Honor Flight Bluegrass took 200 World War II veterans to Washington last year and hopes to take a similar number this year, with additional trips slated for September and October.