Following yearly tradition, local veterans are lining up to be part of an annual trip to visit the National World War II Memorial.
“This would be our seventh trip going down, and we never missed a year,” Joe Smith, Barry Township, an Army veteran and a member of the board of directors of the Schuylkill County Veterans Trip Organization, said Tuesday.
It will be held Sept. 6 with the buses leaving from the parking lot of Home Depot at Coal Creek Commerce Center, Saint Clair.
“The buses will leave at 7 a.m., but we need people to arrive there, preferably, at 6:15 a.m., and no later than 6:30 a.m.,” Smith said.
The group has chartered three buses, which can carry a total of 148 people. On Tuesday, there were 29 seats open. By Saturday, all were filled, Smith said.
Veterans ride free, and the package includes a boxed lunch and dinner on the way home. Tickets for their companions are $50 each, Smith said.
On Sept. 14, 2013, the Schuylkill County Veterans Trip Organization sent three buses of veterans and their companions — “about 150 people altogether” — on the annual trip to Washington, D.C., Smith said.
It includes a visit to the World War II, Vietnam War, Korean War and the Women in Military Service memorials, as well as lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
The organization has worked all year to raise funds to cover the trip, which costs “between $8,500 and $9,000,” Smith said.
The organization’s officers include George Hosler, Orwigsburg, who serves as its president, and Susie Zoller, Pottsville, who serves as its secretary.
“Because of the nature of this trip, we will be making several stops in Washington, D.C., in a short period of time, which means getting on and off the bus several times and walking various distances from the bus to the actual memorials. Also, we will be leaving Schuylkill County at 7 a.m. and returning around 10 p.m., so it can make for a very long day. Please consider carefully whether or not you are in well enough health to handle the trip as well as the weather conditions that we might face, such as moderate heat or cold. There will be no rain date for this trip, so you must also be prepared for any inclement weather,” Zoller said in a recent press release.
Veterans with questions about the trip can call 570-622-0730, Smith said.