Heroes Among Us: Letters from home bring emotional moments aboard Southwest Florida Honor Flight’s Mission XXV

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - After a day spent visiting the memorials honoring their military service, more than 70 veterans aboard Southwest Florida Honor Flight’s Mission XXV had one more emotional experience waiting for them.This time, it wasn’t at a memorial in Washington, D.C.It was thousands of feet in the air, during their flight home to Southwest Florida.As the veterans settled into their seats, volunteers began a special Honor Flight tradition known as Mail Call, delivering envelopes filled with letters from family members, friends and even complete strangers.Inside were handwritten messages of gratitude, appreciation and recognition for sacrifices made decades ago.For some veterans, those words carried a meaning that was difficult to put into words.Letters that mean more than wordsAmong those receiving letters was veteran Michael Raphael, who reflected on what it meant to know that others understood and appreciated his service.“But most of it is you don’t know that anybody really