'Tears in my eyes': Veterans return home to passionate welcome after D.C. tour

Local veterans who visited Washington D.C. to see veterans memorials at no cost returned to the Central Coast Wednesday night — and a passionate crowd awaited their arrival.

The trip was part of Honor Flight Central Coast's Tour of Honor.

Veterans — primarily from the Vietnam Era — spent all day Tuesday in Washington D.C., touring various sites and memorials before arriving back in Santa Maria around 9:10 p.m.

The enthusiastic greetings were a stark departure from the welcome-home message many Vietnam veterans received decades ago.

"When I got off years ago at LAX there was nobody there and the first thing I got called was a name and I thought oh my God," said Gilbert Rojo, a Templeton resident and Vietnam veteran who was an Army specialist IV. "I took my hat off and put it under my jacket so they wouldn't recognize me, but not this time."

Honor Flight Central Coast describes the flight as not just a journey for veterans, but a reunion of family legacies and stories of service.

"I had my family there — my wife — it was just beautiful, you know what, I had tears in my eyes, man," Rojo continued. "It was ... I always hear this: 'Thank you for your service,' but the most beautiful thing a Vietnam vet ever hears is 'Welcome home.'"

San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Down accompanied the veterans to D.C. after returning from his recent tour of duty in the Middle East.

Lt. Col. Dan Dow of the California Army National Guard deployed to Kuwait in September . He shared a holiday greeting from the country in December .

You can learn more about Honor Flight Central Coast on the organization's website . It encourages all veterans to submit an application for a paid-for trip to Washington D.C.