Traveling to their national memorial is an overdue thanks for their military service and sacrifices for freedom. If only for one long day, they were again a "band of brothers" from the Ozarks: officers and infantrymen, pilots and paratroopers and, in their midst, one WAVE, Shirley Bass.

“What it’s like to be with all these men?” a reporter asked.

“It's embarrassing!” she said.

WAVES were Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, a division of the U.S. Navy during World War 2. Barely 20, Bass volunteered as a stateside Navy airplane mechanic on a dare from her five enlisted brothers.

“My mother she said was the luckiest woman in the world, as we all came back without a scratch,” said Bass.

At the World War 2 Memorial, Bass revealed her military service didn't end there.

“I sent three sons to Vietnam. I've done my part,” she said.

In this place of remembering and reflecting, veterans often say the real heroes did not come home, and the past still haunts them.

“It does bring some closure; I see people who died horribly at night-time, and that was 60 years ago,” said Army veteran George Wilson.

Ralph Manley's twin was killed parachuting into Sicily. The battlefield taught him gratitude.

“All days are good; some are better than others. I don't gripe, I don't complain,” said the developer and former Springfield city councilman.

This trip was more than sightseeing and snapshots with senior citizens. Former KY3 News reporter Monte Schisler showed up to greet the veterans. Schisler regularly drives over from his home in Delaware because the Memorial has become a magnet.

“This wasn't my war,” said Schisler. “I've got relatives, and it’s closure for some; for me, it’s ‘thank you.’”

That is the supreme mission and reason Ozarks Honor Flight is up and running: to say thank you.

This first Ozarks Honor Flight was easily an overwhelming success. The organization has enough veterans on the list to send two more planes but the next flight won’t be until spring.

“We have to wait until after the Cherry Blossom Festival is over because we can't get tour busses,” said Charlie Blake, the leader of Ozarks Honor Flight.

To quote a fellow traveler on our inaugural trip, “Sending 76 veterans to the World War 2 Memorial -- $70,000; volunteering as an Honor Flight Guardian, the people in the blue T-shirts -- $300; spending the day escorting them around D.C. -- priceless!!!”

Heading home, every Honor Flight includes mail call. Here's a shout-out to thousands of students, family and friends who wrote personal letters to all of our veterans on our first flight. One little girl said she admired their courage, and hoped the military served pancakes if she was called to duty.