American Airlines pays tribute to Medal of Honor recipients with special Airbus A321 livery
Courage. Sacrifice. Integrity. Commitment. Patriotism. Citizenship.
Those values are embodied in the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration, and can now be found on the fuselage of an American Airlines Airbus A321 that pays tribute to the award and those who have received it.
Outgoing CEO Doug Parker formally unveiled the newly-wrapped aircraft, Flagship Valor, which has the registration number of N167AN, at a ceremony at the airline's Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) hub on Thursday.
"Giving back to the men and women who serve our country is a real privilege for the 130,000 team members of American Airlines," Parker said. "And I'm proud to say that more than 8,000 of those team members are veterans or still serving in the National Guard or Reserves."
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The aircraft was wrapped with the special design during the past week at American's maintenance base in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It features the three variants of the Medal of Honor that are issued by the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force. Near the six Medal of Honor values are seven blue silhouettes that represent seven major military conflicts since the medal's creation in 1861. World War II is prominently represented by the iconic image of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Iwo Jima. The inside of the aircraft features QR codes that passengers can scan to learn more about the Medal of Honor and those who have received it.
The aircraft's unveiling comes ahead of National Medal of Honor Day on Friday, which is when American's partner — the National Medal of Honor Museum — will break ground on a permanent home in Arlington, Texas, near the DFW hub and the airline's Fort Worth headquarters.
This is not the first time American has honored the military on its aircraft. In the 2000s, the airline dedicated aircraft that featured yellow ribbons to honor veterans and active-duty service members.
In addition to this aircraft, American also currently has an A321 painted in a unique Stand Up to Cancer livery. It features the names of 22,627 people who have been affected by cancer.
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