When 78 veterans visit the nation's capital, the stories start flowing.

"He got shot right through the knee, and that scared me half to death," said Dick Senecal, a Korean War veteran.

"From there my outfit went to Iwo Jima, but I was wounded on Saipan," remembered James Boutin, a World War II veteran.

"I wasn't one of the fighters,” explained Kenneth Hurst, a World War II veteran. “I had signed on, but they wanted medics."

Saturday, Honor Flight took them from Syracuse to Washington D.C. for one last tour with honor.

"Today is one of the best days I've had in I don’t know how long,” Boutin said. “It's really wonderful and these people here they treated us like, well, like we're generals."

Not every veteran received an appropriate welcome home after their service, so Honor Flight works to thank veterans by taking them on a trip to Washington D.C.

"I've had emotions ever since I got off the plane, seeing the crowds that all came out to welcome us,” said Ceil Bell, a Korean War veteran and the only woman veteran on the trip. “It's amazing."

The day started with a visit to the World War II memorial, before the group traveled down the National Mall to the Korean and Vietnam War memorials.

Then they saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery across the river. Attendees say seeing memorials from their times in service, sparks conversations between veterans and their loved ones that some have never had.

"That she worked for the NSA,nNever knew it,” said Thomas Bell, Ceil’s son and guardian on the trip. “I knew she was stationed in Hawaii. [She turns] 60 next year and I'm finding out things for the first time."

Two dozen world war two veterans saw their memorial together.

"I wasn't a fighting hero like so many of my friends were,” Hurst said, who is counting down to his 100th birthday in July. “I did my time and did my F.D.R. vacation 36 months."

"From there we went to Saipan, Tinian,” Boutin said, who served in the Pacific with the 4th Marine Division. “Tinian is where they took off from the bomb that had Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

The veterans are living history books, and thanks to honor flight, they wrote a new chapter together.

Honor Flight is accepting applications for future trips. The organization brings veterans to Washington D.C. twice a year.