Veterans Return Home From the Bucks County Tour Of Honor
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Last evening, around 7:00 PM, there was a huge police presence along Street Road in Bensalem. Curious people flooded social media wondering what was going on. Every year, about 300 veterans from Bucks County board buses at Parx Racing, for a trip to Washington DC, to see the historic sights and war monuments.
Many of these veterans have never been to DC and they only see their monuments or the US Capitol on television. The trip lasts for several hours and they arrive back home at Parx for a heroes welcome in the early evening. Last night, a crowd of about 300 people showed up and about 7:00 PM six tour buses rolled up and the vets got out and walked up the red carpet, into Parx.
Alex Lloyd Gross Photo Delaware Valley News.com People wait for the busses to arive.
This year it was a bit different, with Bucks County Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick standing right against the doors of the racetrack building, greeting the vets as they went up the ramp for a celebratory dinner. This year, Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo took the trip with the vets.
As the motorcade entered the city limits, they were escorted by a Philadelphia Police Helicopter as well as members from the Warriors Watch . This is a group of bikers, most of them are veterans, and they volunteer their time to provide escorts for veterans organization for trips such as this, or funerals.
The time to disembark from the buses takes about 30 minutes. Some of the vets require assistance in mobility. On the buses, there are volunteers available to assist in that capacity. This trip happens every year, The scheduled return time is about 6:00 PM but due to traffic, the buses have a propensity to arrive about an hour later .
To keep the crowd waiting, patriotic music is played and free hot dogs and pretzels are served.