JULY 2019 NEWS AND VIEWS FOR THE NEW YORK METRO AIRPORT COMMUNITY Airport VoiceFREE
SALUTE
TO OUR
TROOPS Honoring and Healing our Heros
Airman William Johnson was able to
look back and understand the politics of
the time and yet believed strongly in our
Democracy in his heart and the changes
that have taken place for all military
personnel.
Now, for us, our national mindset
has also changed. The old political differences
have faded and the nation belatedly
recognizes all those who have
sacfificed, lost their lives and have remained
MIA. Dozens of organizations
and government agencies have created
programs to remember their service
and to provide assistance to a large
number of Veterans from the MidEast
conflicts who have found assimulation
back into society challenging.
In our centersection of this issue,
there is a full listing of resources dedicated
to our military bothers and sisters.
Remember United We Stand.
Continued on pages 20-21.
William Johnson, 1st
Class Airman one of
the remaining Tuskegee
Airmen, with fond
memorabilia. Photo by
Jeff Yapalater
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Celebrates World Pride
Diversity and inclusivity power special flight
In honor of New York City’s
LGBTQIA+ Pride March,
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
arrived at JFK from Amsterdam’s
Schiphol Airport full of
pride on June 28, 2019. Each
member of the flight’s crew
is an active member of the
LGBTQIA+ community and
proudly celebrated Pride onboard
this year.
Everyday KLM is committed
to diversity and to
promoting an inclusive work
environment in which all employees
can be themselves,
and World Pride serves as a
wonderful global moment to
celebrate LGBTQIA+ employees
and passengers.
This year marks the 50th
anniversary of the Stonewall
riots and the first year
New York has hosted World
Pride. The Stonewall riots
marked the beginning of the
gay rights movement and
Pride across the world. Stonewall
Inn stands in New York’s
Greenwich Village neighborhood.
Among the celebrations
included the Pride
March where 150,000 participants
marched through Manhattan
and past the Stonewall
National Monument.
We salute the men and women who
constitute our nation's military-serving
now or Veterans having served.
Our military has been a cornerstone
of our freedoms, fighing foreign wars
to preserve our democracy; fightinjg
terrorists hell bent on destroying our
way of life; and protecting the values we
hold. However, recognition of our troops
has not always been rightous during deployment
or when returning home.
Our country standed tall behind our
Vets from WWII and Korea, but a divided
country failed to support the Vietnam
Veterans.
The creation of the all black Tuskegee
Airmen regiment was positive in
creation but failed to deliver a rewarding
experience for many black AF pilot
servicemen. While called upon to defend
the country, they were not give the
status nor
ability to perform during WWII. It
wasn’t until years later that Tuskegee
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