CLEARWATER, Fla. — Cadets with the Civil Air Patrol hope to travel to Normandy, France, to participate in D-Day commemoration events.
More than 70 cadets have been invited to be the official Honor Guard for the commemoration in June.
The Clearwater Composite Squadron is a volunteer group and serves as a feeder system for all branches of the military.
The squadron would be uniformed representatives in activities during the D-Day commemoration, including a parade and wreath laying event at area military cemeteries.
First Lieutenant Jerome Budde participated in commemoration events for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
He believes the experience would be a significant lesson for cadets.
"Really for them, learn, experience, meet people that were there, people that appreciate and have family members that were there and really just take that history, that history lesson back with them when they come back home," said Lt. Budde.
The Civil Air Patrol needs about $250,000 to travel to France. The cost is about $4,200 per person. So far, they've raised nearly $15,000.
"Any little bit helps, I’ll say that again, you know. If we can’t send everybody, I want to at least be able to send our Color Guard cadets so they can carry the American flag, Civil Air Patrol flag," said Lt. Budde.
Civil Air Patrol is an all-volunteer auxiliary to the United States Air Force.
The Civil Air Patrol has three programs, which include education, emergency services, and youth development programs.
"Our squadron is very good at all three of them. Our biggest focus, we're very emergency services oriented squadron. We do a lot of disaster relief. During Hurricane Ian, we actually sent probably a total of 15 to 20 of our members down to the disaster zone. We were out there 10 days in a row. We logged about 2,000 miles and took probably 150,000 photos to report back to FEMA so that they could get an idea of the hardest hit areas, and that's all stuff we involve the cadets in," Lt. Budde.
Cadets range in age from 12 to 21 years of age.
For more information on the trip and how to help, visit here.
