Washington — This Veterans Day will surely remain etched in their memories.

Under clear skies and a comfortable 70-degree warmth in the heart of the nation’s capital last weekend, former President Barack Obama made a surprise appearance. He greeted veterans from the Korean and Vietnam Wars as they arrived on an Honor Flight from Madison, Wisconsin.

“Hello, everybody,” his voice resonated through the loudspeaker.

“What!” one person blurted out in disbelief, while another veteran stood in awe, mouth agape.

“I just wanted to say thank you,” the former president continued in a moment captured on video.

Seventy-nine veterans and their families made the trip.

Obama shook hands with them as they exited the aircraft and presented them with a Presidential Challenge Coin, a token to express his personal gratitude for their sacrifices.

“Ahead of Veterans Day, I was honored to welcome a flight of veterans and their families as they arrived in D.C.,” Obama said in a statement.  “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 made to protect our country will be honored, today and every day.”

The Honor Flight Networks is a national nonprofit organization that provides free flights to veterans to visit Washington-area monuments. It initially focused on World War II-era veterans but has expanded its mission to include veterans from the Korean and Vietnam Wars and other tours of duty.

“I had tears in my eyes,” said Army veteran Joe Parr. “I just couldn’t believe that there were that many people around that remembered us and was there to greet us and it was just unbelievable!” 

The Honor Flight program has been in operation for 20 years and has served more than 317,000 veterans, according to its website.

“It started off very small and now a lot of states have their own hubs and they raise their own money and they set up the whole flights,” said Capt. Mary Quigley, a Navy veteran and Honor Flight volunteer.