Post By Angela Suico

A local volunteer group is seeking veterans of World War II and the Korean War for a free May 22 bus trip to see the national memorials for both wars, in Washington, D.C.

Nurses and volunteer helpers will be aboard each bus, and wheelchairs are available on request. Boxed lunches and dinners, as well as snacks and drinks, will also be provided.

Since the first trip, in 2006, around 1,500 veterans living in the Pittsburgh area have seen the memorials, according to volunteer Jackie Cain, of Harmar Township. The trips have provided vets with an opportunity for bonding and camaraderie.

Writes Cain, “Many of the [v]ets, like my [f]ather, have never talked about their experiences during WWII or the Korean War but they talk to each other on our trips. On one trip a gentleman was sitting by the window on the bus and another gentleman stopped to ask if the seat was open. He stopped in mid-sentence and they both started to laugh—they had gone to high school together, enlisted together and had not seen each other since!”

The group, formerly known as the World War II Veterans Bus Trip, is funded by private donations.

The buses will leave at 6 a.m. and return around 9 p.m. The pick-up points are Ross Park, Monroeville, Green Tree and Beaver, but the bus can also stop at turnpike exits between Monroeville and Breezewood.

For more information, contact Cain at 412-963-0518 or [email protected].

To register veterans, call Lydian Fisher, the group’s head nurse, at 724-703-3614. The registration deadline is Sat., May 17.

Cain says the group typically organizes two such bus trips each year. A second is planned for October.