Roger Waggoner and his wife Sue Waggoner, of Bullard sit together at the 18th Brookshire's Hero Flight sendoff ceremony at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport on Thursday, May 23, 2019. (Staff File)

Area veterans will be honored for their service with an all-expenses paid tour of Washington, D.C., memorials and monuments during the 19th Brookshire’s and Super 1 Foods Heroes Flight.

The flight departs Thursday from Tyler with 29 veterans from the East Texas area and Louisiana. Over the years, the flight has included World War II and Korean War veterans, but for the first time this trip will add veterans from the Vietnam War and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to a Brookshire’s news release.

The send-off is scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. at the Tyler Pounds Regional Airport. The return is set for 6:15 p.m. Saturday at the airport. The public is invited to both events, the release stated.

The group will visit the World War II Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Air and Space Museum, and memorials honoring the U.S. Marines, Navy, Air Force, Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr. and Vietnam and Korean War veterans, according to the release.

The veterans also will tour the U.S. Capitol with U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, who represents Congressional District 1 in the House of Representatives.

“Our veterans are true heroes, and we consider it a great privilege to honor them through our Heroes Flights,” said Brad Brookshire, chairman and CEO for Brookshire Grocery Co.

“We are especially excited that, for the first time ever, we will have veterans representing four conflicts sharing this experience together.”

Since 2010, Brookshire’s has taken over 500 veterans from Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas to D.C. as a part of the Heroes Flight program. Brookshire’s Grocery Co. employees will attend to assist the veterans during the event, according to the release.

Brookshire’s also will hold its fourth annual Brookshire’s and Super 1 Foods Heroes Run on Oct. 26 in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana. For more information on the run, go to bgcracing.com.

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