LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A hero's welcome for veterans returning from their Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

The group of 78 veterans left Louisville's airport early Wednesday morning to tour the war memorials in the nation's capitol. 

Honor Flight Bluegrass takes World War II, Korean and Vietnam era veterans on the trip for free. Many go to pay their respects to fallen comrades and remember their service.

The group landed at the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport just before 10 p.m. Wednesday, where they were greeted by dozens of people, including family members, holding signs to welcome them home.

Organizers said there were about 70 Vietnam veterans and about 12 Korean veterans on the flight. 

The families of veterans returning from the Honor Flight said they were excited to see them come home. Some of them were there to surprise their loved ones upon their return.

Perry Brantley, who served in the Army during the Vietnam war, said Tuesday that he was going for peace of mind. It's something he's wanted for 50 years.

Organizers with Honor Flight Bluegrass sent WDRB News video of Brantley at the Vietnam memorial on Wednesday.

Perry Brantley in Washington DC.jpeg

Perry Brantley at the Vietnam war memorial in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (WDRB photo)

Brantley's wife Catherine was at the airport Wednesday to welcome him home, something she didn't get to do when he returned to Louisville's airport after the war in Vietnam. 

"When he came home he had malaria, so his parents picked him up here at this airport and went right home, where he surprised me, or they surprised me, since I wasn't able to come up in the middle of the night to get him," Catherine Brantley said.

When asked how she thought her husband would react to her and the crowd welcoming him home, she said "I think he's gonna be overwhelmed."

IMAGES | Local veterans return from Honor Flight in Washington D.C.

"This is something that's gonna help give him closure for his time in Vietnam and what he experienced there," she said. "He had a little sign that said 'home' and he colored in each day, 365 little divisions within that sign, and he always left that, he never colored in the No. 1 for the day that he came home, because he didn't feel like he came home. And he told me last night he said 'I want us to get our children together and I'm gonna color in that last one after this.'"

Brantley said the homecoming was overwhelming for her, too. She and Perry were engaged while he was in Vietnam. A student at the University of Kentucky, she saw the burning down of the armory and protests surrounding the war. 

"It didn't change the fact that the soldiers went and did their duty when they were called, so they deserve the welcome home like this and I think the way the Vietnam veterans were treated resulted in this type of thing. Our country saw that that was a big mistake and we needed to make it right, according to the Afghan veterans and the Iraq veterans, all of them."

Perry Brantley was all smiles when he returned, saying "hallelujah" when he saw the WDRB News crew at the airport. He shared a hug with his wife, Catherine, and said the trip provided the closure he needed.

"We're gonna have a special night where we're gonna fill out the one left all together, so it'll be the end of my military career," he said. "This has been, the closure that's been happening for 50 years and I needed this so much."

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