About 500 veterans and their guests left the York Fairgrounds for Mount Vernon on Thursday morning, with 10 motorcoaches departing at about 8:30 a.m. The daylong outing was organized by Bailey Coach for the ninth year. A public welcome was planned for the group’s return that evening.
York County’s veteran community
The group on the Mount Vernon trip represents a small share of the county’s veteran population. According to the York Daily Record, citing U.S. Census Bureau 2023 estimates, York County was home to 25,111 veterans, or 6.9 percent of its population of more than 363,000.
The excursion, reported by FOX43, cost veterans and their guests nothing — breakfast, lunch, Mount Vernon admission, and round-trip transportation were all included. Once they arrived, veterans had about five hours to explore the grounds, walk the estate, and tour Washington's mansion before boarding the buses again for the ride back to York.
FOX43 reported that the departure program at the fairgrounds included York County President Commissioner Julie Wheeler and state Sen. Kristin Phillips-Hill.
A volunteer-backed effort
FOX43 reported that organizer Kristy Fasano called it a privilege to put the trip together for York County’s veterans community. Fellow organizer Courtney Piccolo said the annual outing takes months of planning and relies heavily on local veterans organizations to help fill the buses.
FOX43 reported that other bus companies volunteered motorcoaches and that donated services from various vendors totaled about $20,000. Honor Flights inspired Bailey Coach’s Washington, D.C., trip, according to Bus & Motorcoach News. The flights use donated transportation to take veterans to memorials.
A tradition of veterans’ outings
Bailey Coach’s All Vets to Washington, D.C., page provides the company’s own background on the program.
Other Bailey-organized outings have followed a similar model. A separate trip to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, organized by the Bailey Companies, honored hundreds of veterans, with nine buses carrying 350 veterans and their families that day, WGAL reported. An earlier D.C. trip drew more than 400 people, plus a few service dogs, riding in ten motorcoaches donated by Bailey Coach along with Executive Coach of Lancaster and Wolf Bus Lines of York Springs. Bailey Coach has also said it expected 600 veterans and family members for a planned trip to Arlington National Cemetery scheduled for Nov. 8, as noted by Bus & Motorcoach News.
Welcome-Home Celebration Set for Thursday Evening
FOX43 reported that Bailey Coach planned a free welcome-home celebration for the returning veterans Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at the York Fairgrounds, Gate 6, off Highland Avenue. Organizers said they would provide American flags and glow sticks for people coming out to greet the buses.
Piccolo told FOX43 that the welcome-home celebration means a great deal to the veterans and is her favorite part of the day. She encouraged families, including those with children, to come greet the buses as they return to York.
