WASHINGTON, D.C. — Vietnam veteran Jim Kestner got a surprise visit from his granddaughter Abigail Ballantyne while in our nation's capital with the Buffalo Niagara Honor Flight.
"Simply amazing," he said. "I was really surprised. Makes me feel wonderful to see her. Personally I can't describe how happy I am right now at this minute."
Ballantyne is in the Navy and is stationed in the area, but doesn't see Jim very often.
"And I have a feeling when I go on sea duty, it's only going to get harder. So getting this extra time with him means the world to me," said Ballantyne.
Kestner's trip to D.C. with the other veterans started with a hero's welcome at the Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and then they received another incredible welcome as they arrived in Baltimore.
Together with his wife and granddaughter, Kestner got a first-hand look at the black granite Memorial Wall, which features the names of more than 58,000 men and women who gave their lives or are missing.
"Now people are starting to realize what we went through over there. I think it's finally getting through to the public," said Kestner.
Soldiers like Kestner, who made it home, were treated poorly.
"Not very well liked, called names," said Kestner.
Which is why the wall gives him and others a chance to reflect on a heartwarming public about face.
"It's very moving. Any time anybody comes up and says thank you, that means the world to any veteran, I think," said Kestner.
"That impressed me so much. I have never witnessed nothing like it," added Lawrence Charles, a fellow Vietnam vet.
Charles was drafted at 18 years old and entered the Air Force.
"I saw some things in Vietnam that no eyes should see. My PTSD is kind of erupting again now that I'm in Washington D.C.," he said.
Like many others who visit the memorial, Charles found the name of a friend and fallen comrades on the wall.
"Donald Welch. Trying to understand, even at 77 years old, why I was there. It was important to defend our land," said Charles.
It's equally important for these vets to get a chance to share the emotional experience with others.
"I experienced tears. I can tell you I've been crying since we arrived. It's OK. I cried a lot," said Charles.
He also got emotional at a special dinner while opening thank you cards and letters of appreciation, as well as when he and the others landed in Buffalo — a proper welcome home, decades in the making.
In the final part of his Honor Flight series Friday, Mark Goshgarian will take you to the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon and will speak with a couple of the guardians traveling with the veterans.
