BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — On Saturday Kern County welcomed home some of it's finest in a big way.

Well over 100 people gathered at Meadows Field Airport as 17 Kern County veterans returned home from an Honor Flight that visited Washington D.C.

All of those who were returning home served in World war II, the Korean War, or the Vietnam War.

The mission of the Honor Flight Network is to transport veterans to D.C. to visit memorials dedicated to honor them. The group that returned Saturday was part of Kern County Honor Flight's 40th flight for local vets since 2012. They do about four per year.

The group of 17 left Bakersfield on Thursday morning. Saturday's large cheering crowd and music played by the Family Veteran's Band was a complete surprise to the vets.

"I'd really like to thank the people of Bakersfield for coming out in this homecoming, this is amazing. This whole trip was amazing. It's been overwhelming from the getgo and I really appreciate all the support that we're getting. Thank you, Bakersfield," said Dusty Engel, who is a Vietnam War Veteran.

"It's just, it's great. Real good, real good feeling," said Moises Carrasco, who served in the Korean War.

Honor Flight Kern county said their next trip will be next month when they take 100 Vietnam veterans to D.C.

The organization asks if you know of any World War II or Korean War veterans, go to their website at honorflightkerncounty.org and you can get them involved in a future trip.