Greatest Generation Tour to kick off

PENSACOLA, Fla. (WALA) - Edward Ray has seen the cost of war. His brother served in Vietnam and came home permanently disabled. His father served in the Army Air Corps during World War II. He made it home safely but died 20 years ago. As he strolled through Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Pensacola, he reflected on all of those who served.

“This is a great country and freedom don’t come cheap,” he said. “I mean, it’s something you got to fight for to keep.”

The Republican Party of Florida is encouraging everybody to reflect and give thanks to our World War II veterans and they’re doing their part by hosting the Greatest Generation Tour. The seven city tour will kick off Saturday, April 2 in Pensacola.

“We’ll have what we call a roll call and I’ll have the honor of being able to recognize each one of those World Wart II veterans; who they are and what they’ve done,” said Don Salter with the Republican Party of Florida.

The ceremony will be held at The Courtyard in North Hill on Avery Street starting at noon. About 50 WWII veterans are attending and will receive certificates of appreciation for their service.

“We’re losing approximately 1,200 World War II veterans per day across this country and we need to show our appreciation before it’s too late,” Salter said.

That appreciation is not only felt by our veterans who are still with us, but also by the families of those who aren’t.

“I’m glad they’re doing that; going around and doing this,” said Ray. “It’s a pretty good, neat thing.”

The Greatest Generation Tour will be in a different city each month through the end of the summer.

Locations

• Pensacola - April 2
• Jacksonville - April 30
• Tampa - May 28
• Orlando - June 25
• Sarasota - July 30
• Miami - August 27
• The Villages - TBA

To Register: http://rpof.org/greatestgeneration/