A World War II veteran and islander was recently given the opportunity to see the Washington D.C. memorials on the National Mall.

Kenneth Duncan, 98, his daughter and 51 other veterans travelled to the nation’s capital late last month to visit the memorials and be recognized for their service. The trip was one of many made possible through Puget Sound Honor Flight (PSHF), an organization that sends veterans to the nation’s capital free-of-charge.

Duncan’s daughter, Candy Duncan-Gjertsen, said that her father was overwhelmed with the kindness he encountered on the trip.

“They treat them like heroes,” she said. “He had a wonderful time and didn’t expect it to be so amazing.”

After veterans fill out an application ensuring veteran status and complete other paperwork, PSHF allows them to travel free with a guardian, who pays $1,000 for their share of the trip. Once there, they visit seven memorials and attend ceremonies.

The two left on a plane to Baltimore on Sept. 25 and returned three days later to festivities, speeches and music at SeaTac airport.

“Their (PSHF) mission is simply to get vets to D.C. to see these memorials and monuments,” she said. “We would run into recent veterans, and they would shake his hand and some would salute.”

Duncan-Gjertsen said she saw the PSHF booth at an air show in Mukilteo and thought it would be perfect for her father.

“He lives in a house he built himself at the north end of the island. Growing up during The Depression, these people worked their asses off, and he’s still like that,” she said.