Ninety veterans from the Upstate boarded a special American Airlines charter flight out of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport before dawn, bound for Washington, D.C. on a trip unlike any Honor Flight Upstate had flown before. Of the group, 81 were Vietnam War veterans, eight served in Korea, and one was among the last remaining World War II veterans in the Upstate — the first time the organization dedicated a flight specifically to honoring those who served in Vietnam.
A First-of-Its-Kind Mission
The trip, which took place on September 16, 2026, marked a milestone for an organization that has flown at least 2,200 veterans to the nation's capital over the past 16 years, according to FOX Carolina. Veterans and their guardians gathered at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport around 5:30 a.m. before the charter flight carried them to Washington. As WYFF News 4 reported, Jimmy Greer and dozens of others became the first group of Vietnam veterans to participate in an Upstate South Carolina Honor Flight.
Once they landed, the veterans received a hero's welcome at Reagan National Airport's Gate D38, the station reported. From there, the day's itinerary began at Arlington National Cemetery, where sentinels presented an honorary wreath to the Upstate veterans and recognized Mortimer Sams, the flight's only World War II veteran, along with the other travelers present.
Faces Among the Memorials
Sams, who is from Greenville and served in the military more than 80 years before this trip, was joined on the journey by his son, Robert Sams. South Carolina U.S. Sen. Darline Graham paid her respects to the elder Sams during the visit, the station's report notes. Elsewhere at the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Charles Laico, a Korean War veteran from Simpsonville, was greeted by fellow travelers marking his service.
For many of the Vietnam veterans, the most powerful moment came at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, which stretches nearly 500 feet and bears more than 58,000 names of the fallen, per the same account. Marine veteran Victor Coachman found the name of his second cousin, Gregory Tynes, who was killed in combat in 1971 just shy of his 22nd birthday. Jimmy Greer searched the wall and found the names of nine friends who were killed in Vietnam in 1968 over the span of nine months.
Other veterans carried their own quiet tributes. Charles Bergandi wore a bracelet honoring two friends who died in Vietnam, while Herbert Ervin, who was just 17 when he went to Vietnam, walked the memorial alongside the rest of the group. Norris Ham said the trip showed him that people cared about him, and Marjoe Davif said he was very appreciative of being honored, according to the same report.
A Hero's Welcome Back Home
The veterans returned from Washington to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, with the flight touching down at approximately 8:25 p.m., FOX Carolina reported. Hundreds of family members, friends and well-wishers packed the terminal to welcome the veterans home with signs and American flags, a scene described in reporting by the Greenville Journal.
Kevin McBride, Prisma Health's director of military and government liaison office, and Charlotte Edwardson, community engagement director for Upstate Warrior Solution, were among those involved in supporting the veterans on their journey, according to WYFF's reporting. The trip took place Wednesday, September 16, and represented a historic first for Vietnam-era veterans in the Upstate.
For veterans like Coachman and Greer, the wall carried something deeply personal — the names of friends and family they never stopped remembering.
