Mt. Kisco Man Preps for Flight of a Lifetime With Vet Father

This column first appeared as a segment in our daily Examiner+ email newsletter.

Anyone involved with civic life in Mt. Kisco almost certainly knows Mike McNamee and Mike’s wife, Bridget.

Bridget and Mike McNamee are the people who shoot their hands up first any time there’s a need for a volunteer, whether for a school committee, a boy scout troop, a little league team, a church effort, or whatever else. 

And as I learned this past week, service most definitely runs in the family.

Mike’s father, Frank McNamee, a 76-year-old Yonkers native, enlisted in the United States Air Force and served in Vietnam for most of 1966 and through early 1967. Stationed at DaNang Air Force Base, he obtained the rank of Senior Airman, E-4. 

This Saturday, Nov. 5, Frank’s service will be honored as Mike joins his dad on a Hudson Valley Honor Flight, also known as HVHF.

“My Dad has always been proud that he served his country, especially during such a difficult time,” Mike McNamee told me, noting how special it will be to share the experience with not just his father, but also a broader group of Vietnam vets. “And I have always been proud of him for doing it. This is a special once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to share this amazing honor with him.”

Hudson Valley Honor Flight, a nonprofit, transports veterans like Frank to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials for free.

Learn more here.

Anyone who might be interested can visit Westchester County Airport this Saturday — the sendoff is at 7 a.m. at Hangar D while the return ceremony is scheduled for 9 p.m. at the main terminal. Bridget is already coordinating a contingent from West Patent Elementary School to attend. Good luck, McNamees! (And thank you, Jon Weiner, for the heads up.)

Adam Stone

Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.