HFR WELCOMES HOME FIRST MISSION OF THE FALL
Mission 61 Return Sunday at the Rochester International Airport
ROCHESTER, NY – Honor Flight Rochester (HFR) welcomes home Mission 61, the first mission of the fall-flying schedule, this Sunday, Sept. 9. The mission has 46 veterans who served in various branches of the U.S. armed services in World War II (4), the Korean War (21), Vietnam War (4), and in the era known as the Cold War (17).
HFR Mission 61 returns to the Greater Rochester International Airport on at 12:30 p.m. The public welcome home and celebration begins between 1 and 1:30 p.m.
This is the fourth of six missions for 2018. Not including Mission 61, HFR has escorted 2,892 men and women veterans on 60 Missions. HFR’s longevity is due to the generosity of donations from individual donors and corporate sponsors and hundreds of volunteers. People interested in volunteering or donating to HFR can find information on www.HonorFlightRochester.org.
HFR is celebrating its 10th year of flying veterans from the Greater Rochester area on a free Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. HFR was formed in July 2008 by Vince Hope, Col. Edwin Mench; Maj. Peter Glennon; Kim and Jeff Gould; and Patrick and Kathleen Wall.
Veterans and guardians can apply to fly online at http://www.HonorFlightRochester.org. HFR is affiliated with the national Honor Flight Network.
Please note: The airport is under construction. Please be careful when driving and parking. Room inside the airport is limited.
DATE: Sunday, September 9, 2018.
PUBLIC WELCOME CELEBRATION: Between 1 – 1:30 p.m., after the veterans have disembarked the plane.
FLIGHT: Southwest Airlines Flight #6933
SCHEDULE FLIGHT ARRIVAL TIME: Scheduled to arrive 12:30 p.m.
WHERE: Greater Rochester International Airport
EMCEE: WROC-TV Anchor Maureen McGuire
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Captain Norberto “Norb” M. Nobrega, U.S.N.
COLOR GUARD: Lady Liberties
MUSIC: Prime Time Brass
HONOR GUARD: Patriot Guard Riders (pgrny.org)
Captain Norberto “Norb” M. Nobrega, U.S. Navy
Captain Nobrega assumed duties as the commanding officer and professor of naval science of Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps Unit Rochester in May 2014. He is a 1989 graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy and a native of Rochester, New York. Following commissioning, he was trained as a nuclear surface warfare officer. At sea, he served as strike missile officer aboard the U.S.S. Lake Champlain (CG 57); reactor controls division officer and shift watch officer aboard U.S.S. Enterprise (CVN 65); operations officer aboard (DD 987); reactor training assistant aboard Enterprise; executive officer aboard U.S.S. John Young (DD-973) and U.S.S. Jarrett (FFG-33); and, materiel officer in Carrier Strike Group 11 embarked in U.S.S. Nimitz (CVN-68). He had deployed six times to the Western Pacific, Arabian Gulf, the Mediterranean, and South America. Norb earned a master’s of business administration degree from the Simon School of Business. He also earned a master’s of science in national security strategy from the National War College.
Ashore, he served as an assistant professor of naval science at NROTC Unit Rochester; executive officer and commanding officer of Navy Recruiting District Miami; chief of the non-governmental organizations relations branch in the J9 Partnering Directorate at U. S. Southern Command; and, as chief of staff and executive assistant for Navy Recruiting Command.
Honor Flight Rochester (www.honorflightrochester.org) is one of many hubs within the national Honor Flight Network. It is a not-for-profit, fully-volunteer organization. Its goal is to take veterans from the Greater Rochester area, who served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces since World War II, on an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor. The two-day trip is free for veterans. Guardians who accompany the veterans are asked to contribute towards their expenses. Veterans fly in order of the time when they served (oldest first; medical priorities are the exception). Our flying season is in the spring and the fall. To date, 2,892 men and women veterans have now flown on 60 missions from the Greater Rochester area since the local organization began full scale flights in early 2009.
View our Mission Photos at: www.honorflightrochester.shutterfly.com
