News

South Main gateway mound becomes HonorAir Park

By Bill Moss, Published: April 27, 2023

Jeff Miller has been honored locally, statewide and even at the White House for cofounding HonorAir, the nonprofit organization that flies military veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit war memorials, bask in gratitude many never received upon their return to the country they served and enjoy the welcome home at Asheville Regional Airport.

But until Thursday there was no permanent marker that memorialized the fact that a program that has spread to all 50 states and honored tens of thousands of war veterans started in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

The mayor and City Council members, city administrators and employees and friends of HonorAir congregated in the drizzling rain South Main Street on Thursday afternoon for the unveiling of a new sign, which turned the green island into HonorAir Park.

“I can understand the feelings of the folks with HonorAir,” Mayor Barbara Volk said. “I had the privilege of being my dad's companion on one of the HonorAir flights. The veterans, the people accompanying them, the folks in D.C., folks welcoming them back and all the people involved in it — it's a very emotional time and it means so much to the people who participate. This is just one small way that we in Hendersonville can say, Thank you, thank you for what you do for our veterans and their families.”

Looking out at the people gathered, Miller spotted several key supporters who signed on 17 years ago when he told them about his plan to charter passenger jets to fly World War II veterans to the nation's capital.

“It's great to see the accumulation of folks that have been with us,” Miller said. “I look down and I see Dave Adams and he was with me from Day 1. John Bell, our doctor, you come over here. Henry Johnson. It's been a big team effort here. It’s a celebration of the folks that are with us now."