5 years ago
Welcome home cheers, waving flags and heartfelt hugs greeted scores of weary veterans who arrived in the nation's capitol after surviving Katrina.
The veterans made it through the hurricane and the flood surge that severely damaged the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Most of the Gulfport staff made the 20 hour bus trip with the veterans, taking care of them and leaving behind their homes and relatives.
Medical attention and counseling await the vets as they begin settling into more than 400 rooms that staff and volunteers rushed to prepare.
For many it's been a difficult voyage. Some left most of their belongings in Gulfport.
Still many of them call themselves fortunate, considering all the devastation and desperation they left behind them.
Written by Phyllis Armstrong
