Barack Obama surprises veterans on honor flight to DC ahead of Veterans Day

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Published  November 11, 2025 11:16am EST
FOX 5 DC

Former U.S. President Barack Obama greets veterans exiting a plane at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. (Credit: Barack Obama via Facebook)

The Brief

    • Former President Barack Obama surprised a group of veterans who flew into Reagan Airport over the weekend.
    • The veterans were visiting Washington, D.C., as part of an honor flight.
    • The former President gave all the Vietnam and Korean War veterans presidential challenge coins.

WASHINGTON - Former President Barack Obama surprised a group of veterans who flew into D.C. over the weekend ahead of Veterans Day.

Obama surprises veterans

What we know:

A group of veterans of the Vietnam and Korean wars flew into Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Saturday, as part of an honor flight from Wisconsin. The veterans were visiting their memorials ahead of Veterans Day on Tuesday.

"When you come to greet our Honor Flight Veterans at DCA, you never know who might be there. On Saturday, our Veterans from Badger Honor Flight were surprised when Barack Obama showed up to greet them when they arrived at DCA," said a post on the Honor Flight Facebook page on Saturday. "He boarded the plane after it landed and addressed the group, then shook every hand and presented each with a presidential challenge coin!"

Obama shared video of the moment on his own Facebook page on Tuesday, showing him greeting the veterans as they got off the plane, and the large crowd of people greeting them as they walked into the terminal.

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What they're saying:

"Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in DC," the former president wrote. "To all those who bravely served our country, thank you to you and your family for your extraordinary service. The sacrifices that all of you have made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day."

What is an Honor Flight?

Dig deeper:

Honor Flight DCA is a volunteer organization that flies veterans to Washington from over 100 hubs across the U.S. The organization brings the veterans to D.C. to visit the memorials for the wars they fought in, free of charge.

The group has flown approximately 300,000 veterans to D.C. over the last 20 years, according to their website.

What's next:

The Honor Flight organization has one more flight scheduled in 2025, with a group from Austin arriving at DCA on Dec. 6.

The Source: Information in this story is from the Honor Flight At Reagan Facebook page and website and Barack Obama's Facebook page.

MilitaryWashington, D.C.Politics