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.<\/p>\n
That observation sparked a mission: create a flight dedicated entirely to women veterans.<\/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
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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
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/99bd08e5cbe6c316bad6964beca6952a.jpeg\"\/)
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“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
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/acce75de3bcd95225315796c49df729b.jpeg\"\/)
<\/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<\/p>\n
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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief More than 120 female veterans from Florida traveled to Washington, D.C. on a first-of-its-kind Flight of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":276161,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[117872,28,30,29,8598,117873,6413,87849],"class_list":["post-276160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-allegiant-flight","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-honor-flight","tag-korean-war-veterans-memorial","tag-washington","tag-women-veterans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276160","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=276160"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/276160\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/276161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=276160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=276160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=276160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n