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A Father’s Day Trip of a Lifetime

kboller
Explorer A

As you may have seen last month, Southwest partnered with Cole Swindell, who performed his hit song, “You Should Be Here,” written in honor of his father, on a packed Live at 35® flight from Los Angeles to Nashville. While the inflight performance was certainly moving for everyone onboard, we didn’t want it to end there.  So, we launched a contest to give winners the opportunity to tell us where they should be with their father figure and to take them on an all-expenses paid trip to anywhere we fly. We received thousands of meaningful entries, but one that really stood out to us was from Paula: 160615 paul in uniform “I would love to take my dad to Washington D.C. to see the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. As an Air Force Vet himself, who now suffers from Parkinson’s and mild dementia, I know this trip would bring him so much happiness! I would love to see that smile on his face again! Love my daddy.” 160615FathersDayStill2This past weekend, Paula and her father, Paul, traveled from Nashville to Washington D.C. to not only celebrate Father’s Day, but also to celebrate Paula’s 50th birthday. 160615FathersDayStill1Everyone involved made it a very special experience for Paul and Paula, from our Flight Attendants who serenaded Paula with “Happy Birthday” and a toilet paper cake onboard the flight, to our Pilots and Customers alike who thanked and appreciated Paul for his service, to our Partners at Honor Flight Network who allowed Paul and Paula to tour the memorials with their group. It truly was a weekend that they will never forget.