Barack Obama stunned dozens of veterans and their families when he suddenly popped onto an aircraft that had just landed in Washington DC to pay his respects ahead of Veterans Day.
‘Hello, everybody!’ the former US president said, causing shock and screams from the wide-eyed passengers.
As Obama thanked the heroes from the Korean War and Vietnam War, he handed each veteran his presidential challenge coin – a White House tradition dating back to Bill Clinton that stands as a gesture of gratitude and respect.
He said on the plane: ‘As we approach Veterans Day, I wanted to stop by and just say thank you for your extraordinary service.
‘To you, your family, the sacrifices that all of you made to protect our country is something that will always be honored.’
On his Medium blog, Obama added that he was ‘grateful’ to have given every veteran ‘a personal token of my gratitude.’
The former US president posted the heartwarming footage on his X account Tuesday morning.
‘Last time I got to see a president, it was Gerald Ford,’ one of the veterans said to Obama as he disembarked the plane.
Barack Obama surprised a group of veterans and their families when he boarded an Honor Flight that had recently landed in DC from Madison, Wisconsin
‘Hello, everybody!’ Obama suddenly said, stunning the dozens of Korean War and Vietnam War veterans
The Democrat leader laughed and replied: ‘How about that?’
The flight Obama made an appearance in was part of the Honor Flight Network, which offers free travel to World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans.
About 22,500 participate in the program each year, which takes them to monuments and memorials across the US that honor veterans.
Capt. Mary Quigley, a US Navy veteran and volunteer, said it was the first time she had seen a president greet one of the Honor Flights.
She added: ‘A commander–in–chief, a leader who’s going to show up and tell you that your service was worth something – I think that’s the important part – so I think it was a great thing that happened.’
Quigley also said the program aimed to treat veterans with the ‘dignity that some of them didn’t get’ upon returning from war.
That feeling was echoed by some of the other war heroes present during Obama’s tribute.
Obama said that he was ‘grateful’ to give each veteran ‘a personal token of my gratitude’
Capt. Mary Quigley, a US Navy veteran and volunteer, called Obama’s visit ‘a great thing that happened’
Joe Parr, an Army veteran, said in the video: ‘I just couldn’t believe that there were that many people around who remembered us and were there to greet us. It was just unbelievable.’
He said his eyes had swelled up at the emotion of the moment.
Greg Adkins, another Army veteran, added: ‘Back then, you got off the plane, and you had no welcome, and people were almost booing you.’
The Honor Flight program has flown over 300,000 veterans to Washington DC since it started, per its website.
‘I’m real happy that now, with current troops, they come back from deployments and they get welcomed back really nicely – because that’s what should happen,’ Nels Swenson, a Navy veteran, said.
‘So it’s being recreated in this flight, and it makes you feel good.’
The Honor Flight Network at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport said Obama ‘shook every hand’ as he honored the veterans.
