The mission continues at Founders Plaza
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport recently opened the new Welcome Home A Hero (WHAH) Commemoration Center at Founder’s Plaza located at 1700 North Airfield Drive. For more than eight years, the WHAH program greeted 1 million soldiers at DFW Airport, arriving and departing from their military deployments. Thousands of volunteers lined up every single day, twice a day to greet incoming troops. “The Welcome Home a Hero volunteers made it their collective mission to extend a warm welcome to our military troops coming home through DFW Airport,” according to Sean Donohue, CEO of DFW Airport. The spirit of the community volunteers that made our troops feel appreciated is honored in the exhibits at the center. An interactive “shower of affection” water cannon is one of several exhibits on the property. The construction was made possible with the donations of materials and labor from Manhattan Construction, Balfour Beatty Construction, Jacobs Engineering and U.S. Shade/NEXREF Technologies. Taking part in the dedication ceremony were Brigadier General David MacEwen, the Adjunct General of the United States Army; CFO for the United Service Organization (USO), Phil Parisi; along with several Medal of Honor recipients and veterans from all wars. “It’s critical for us all to remember that the mission continues, that our troops continue to need our support,” said Jim Crites, executive vice president for operations at DFW Airport. “With these displays, we hope to inspire more and continuing support for the U.S.O. and for many other organizations that support our men and women in uniform.” The mission will only be complete when all our soldiers serving stateside and abroad are all home safe.
NTC President and CEO Mabrie Jackson with a little hero
Brigadier General David MacEwen
DFW Airport CEO Sean Donohue
DFW Airport Executive Vice President Jim Crites