{"id":275588,"date":"2026-05-18T20:17:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:17:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/275588\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T20:17:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T20:17:13","slug":"all-female-flight-of-honor-gives-florida-veterans-long-overdue-recognition-in-washington-d-c","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/275588\/","title":{"rendered":"All-female Flight of Honor gives Florida veterans long-overdue recognition in Washington, D.C."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON, DC – For decades, Honor Flights have brought veterans<\/a> to Washington, D.C.<\/a> to visit the nation\u2019s memorials.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But for many women who served, those moments of recognition often felt out of reach.<\/p>\n

An all-female Flight of Honor brought 120 women veterans from across Florida<\/a> to Washington, D.C. in March, marking the largest trip of its kind from the state.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The journey included a flight from Lakeland <\/a>to Baltimore, followed by a bus ride into the nation\u2019s capital, where veterans visited iconic memorials and were honored for their service.<\/p>\n

The effort was spearheaded by the General Federation of Women\u2019s Clubs Florida, which spent more than two years organizing and fundraising for the trip.<\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Honor Flights have long been a tradition for veterans, offering free trips to Washington to visit memorials dedicated to their service<\/a>. But, organizers noticed something missing.<\/p>\n

“For quite some time, I would watch as veterans came off the flights and there would be no women,” said Sara Dessereau, president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Florida.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That observation sparked a mission: create a flight dedicated entirely to women veterans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dessereau and GFWC members raised $220,000 to rent out an Allegiant flight, book hotels, and buses.<\/p>\n

The experience <\/p>\n

From the moment they landed in Baltimore, the group was greeted with cheers and gratitude.<\/p>\n

In Washington, they visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery, including the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

On the flight home, a traditional “mail call” brought many to tears \u2014 letters from loved ones, lawmakers and even drawings from students.<\/p>\n

For veterans, it was a deeply emotional moment.<\/p>\n

“If you\u2019ve ever been deployed without your family, you know how important mail call is,” one participant said.<\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

Many women said their time in the military came with challenges that often went unrecognized.<\/p>\n

Gloria Lovers, a retired Army communications specialist with top-secret clearance, said she faced skepticism and harassment during her service.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“The men didn\u2019t think we knew much or could do much,” Lovers said. “There were a lot of situations we had to deal with.”<\/p>\n

Retired Air Force Aviation Resource Manager Melanie Levitz shared that she served 23 years but still carries the emotional weight of a sexual assault by a superior during deployment.<\/p>\n

Despite those experiences, the trip offered something powerful: acknowledgment.<\/p>\n

Big picture view:<\/p>\n

For many of these women, this trip wasn\u2019t just about sightseeing, it was about healing.<\/p>\n

At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, some traced the names of fallen service members, friends, colleagues and fellow service members.<\/p>\n

Others reflected on the cost of war and the sacrifices made.<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

The visit to the Military Women’s Memorial allowed each veteran to leave her mark in the books, cementing their place in history.<\/p>\n

What’s next:<\/p>\n

Organizers say any remaining funds from the trip will be donated to nonprofits that support female veterans transitioning back to civilian life.<\/p>\n

There is also hope this won\u2019t be the last all-female Honor Flight, opening the door for more women to receive the recognition they say has long been overdue.<\/p>\n

The Source: This story is based on reporting from FOX 13 News, including interviews with veterans who participated in the trip and organizers with the General Federation of Women\u2019s Clubs Florida.<\/p>\n

Florida<\/a>Military May<\/a>Veterans<\/a>Washington, D.C.<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"WASHINGTON, DC – For decades, Honor Flights have brought veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the nation\u2019s memorials.\u00a0…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":275589,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[10581,47,28,30,29,2583,110895,115,628,3393],"class_list":["post-275588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-dc","tag-fl","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-military","tag-military-may","tag-news","tag-us","tag-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275588\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275589"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}