Doyouhaveastory to tellourcustomers?
INTHEIROWNWORDS
INTHECOMPANY
OFHEROES
Name:
GREGLOCHER
Job:
CUSTOMERSERVICE
AGENT
City:
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Years at American: 30
arrives,ourcharterdepartment
prepares theschedules.Eachflight
ismeticulouslyplanned inadvance
so thateverydetail isaccounted for
—gatespace, sta ng,wheelchairs,
oxygen,musicalentertainmentand
ground transportation.
TherewardIreceive fordoing
thiswork isseeing the facesof the
veteransas theyexit theplane toa
receiving lineofcheeringvolunteers.
Customersoften join inandbecome
partof thearrival festivities. It’snot
uncommon tohaveseveralhundred
peoplegreetingeacharrival.As the
veteranscomeo theairplaneand
up thedecorated jetbridge,most
haveno ideawhatawaits themat the
top.Eachonehasadierentreac-
tion.Someget to thedoorwayand
hold theirhandsup inrecognition
ofshared triumphwhileproceeding
through thecrowdwithuncontain-
ablesmiles.Othersareovercome
withemotionandshed tears that
reflect joyandgratitude.
Throughout thecrowds, thereare
countlesshandshakesandexpres-
sionsofsincere thanks for thosewho
servedourcountry.WhenIwitness
this, itmakes the longhoursofplan-
ningand the fewhoursofsleepIgot
thepriornightworth itall.
I’mproud towork foracompa-
ny thatsupportsourveterans inso
manyways—andone thatprovides
mewith theopportunity tomake
theseHonorFlightsasspecialas
theycanbe. Ihopeyou’llhave the
chance tovisitusatDCA, and that
yourflightscheduleallowsyou the
opportunity to joinus inoneof these
celebrations. Ibelieve itwillbean
experienceyou’llnever forget.
AMERICANWAY
JUNE2015
105
GregLocher’svolunteerwork is thehighlightofhis
careeratAmericanAirlines.
I
’of
working in theairlinebusiness
for30years,firstwithPiedmont
AirlinesatBishopAirport inFlint,
Michigan, then forUSAirwaysat
BaltimoreWashingtonInterna-
tional (BWI)andnow forAmerican
atWashingtonReaganNational
Airport (DCA). I’mcurrentlya
customerserviceagentatDCA
whereIverymuchenjoyworkingat
the ticketcounter.This joballows
me to interactwithourcustomers
daily, andIappreciatebeingatone
ofAmerican’shubs.But thebestpart
ofmy job is thevolunteerworkIdo
tocoordinateHonorFlights for the
menandwomenwhohaveserved in
theUnitedStatesmilitary.
OnMay20,myDCA-based
colleaguesandIwereproud tohost
our400thHonorFlightvisiting the
nation’scapital.TheHonorFlight
Network, anonprofitorganization
dedicated toprovidingveteranswith
appropriaterecognitionandclosure,
fliesveterans toWashington tovisit
memorialsbuiltas tributes to them.
Mostof thevetsserved inWorldWar
II, andsomeare terminally ill.For
many, this is the lastopportunity
theywillhave tovisit, andreflect, at
theirownmemorial—allatnocost
to them.
HonorFlights typicallyoperate
during the temperatemonths in
springand fall— thismonthaloneI
willhelpcoordinatemore than15of
thesespecialflights toD.C.But long
before thefirstflightof theseason
GregLocherwith
WorldWar II cadet
nurseMargaretK.
Bixler at anHonor
Flight celebration
