A few weeks ago, we were returning from a family trip to New Orleans. By chance we'd made an earlier connection to avoid a three-hour delay in New York, but we'd gotten up at 4 a.m. and were a little foggy. Our eyes were half closed as we deplaned in Rochester, but when we exited into the lobby of the airport, they opened wide.

A band was playing, and rows of people were cheering and waving flags. They weren't cheering for us, of course, but for the veterans who were returning from their Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

As the honored ones were wheeled in a procession through the airport, they were greeted by hundreds of cheering children, fellow veterans and dignitaries. We stopped in our tracks as we watched in awe. Soon my husband and I were both bawling.

We weren't just crying at the moving tribute to the veterans of Rochester, although that would be reason enough. We were crying because just a few weeks earlier, my 90-year-old father-in-law had flown as a participant in his own Honor Flight from Ft. Myers, Florida.

Honor Flight is a nonprofit created to honor veterans of World War II and Korea. Veterans are brought to Washington, D.C., to remember and celebrate their legacy. The trips are provided as an appreciation for their service to our country and are entirely free to the veterans. They are all accompanied by a caregiver, and the trip is typically one day.

My father-in-law was picked up at 5:30 a.m. at his home in Ft. Myers. He joined two planeloads of veterans who flew to Baltimore and spent a packed day in Washington, visiting the WWII, Korean and Vietnam war memorials and attending a ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. Then they all got back on a plane and returned to Ft. Myers at midnight. A long day for someone my age, let alone a 90-year-old.

Before our "Pop" left for his trip, the organizers asked us to write him a letter of gratitude for his service, to be given to him at the end of the trip. He received more than 70 letters — from family, friends, fellow veterans and schoolchildren. He intends to write each one of them back.

My father-in-law continues to give back by volunteering throughout the year to help homeless veterans. Sixty-nine years after serving, he's still giving back. He says, "We survived the war. We owe it to our fellow veterans to show our appreciation."

The greeting upon their return from their Honor Flight to Ft. Myers at midnight was amazing, he says. "They gave us a wonderful reception, as if we were coming back from the war. They made us feel like heroes."

I'm so glad circumstances brought me back early to cheer on the Rochester veterans. But it also made me wish I could have been there to cheer my father-in-law on his return. Mostly, I'm so grateful he returned home to his family 69 years ago to build a life in the country he worked so hard to protect. Without him, I wouldn't be here; without all of them, our country wouldn't be here in the way it is now.

After his honor flight, my father-in-law said, "It's an experience I'll never forget." Me too, Pop. We thank you — and your fellow veterans — for your service.

For more information or to donate to our local Honor Flight group, go to: honorflightrochester.org.

The Suburban Outlaw is a recovering  lawyer who helps people around the world  present with passion through her company  ShermanEDGE: Explore, Dream, Grow  & Excite. She lives in Pittsford. Read her  Saturday column in The Democrat and  Chronicle and at herrochester.com; or visit www. suburbanoutlaw.com