ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The path to healing is never straight, nor short. But, a pre-dawn direct flight to our nation's war memorials in Washington, D.C. may be the exception.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, so for 75 Tampa Bay area veterans invited along by the Honor Flight of West Central Florida, it proved to be emotional for each of them.

The backstory:

As if the difficult jungle fighting, chemical warfare and heavy casualties weren't enough for them, that unwelcome homecoming still burns deep for many veterans who remember returning from the Vietnam War to a hostile America.

"When they got off the plane, and they had people spitting at them, yelling bad things, baby killer, it was disgusting," said Mark Welsh, a veteran advocate and Honor Fligh

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