This is a brief follow-on to a story first reported by The Observer, Opelika’s community newspaper. Read their full story for complete coverage.
Two Opelika veterans, Vietnam veteran Wilbert D. Payne Jr. and three-time Purple Heart recipient James Hughley, were part of the Sept. 15-17 Wiregrass Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., The Observer’s Michelle Key reported.
At the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Payne found the name of Milton Hunter, who grew up next door and was raised partly by Payne’s mother. Hunter shipped out to Vietnam right after Payne and did not come home. Payne told The Observer the welcome the veterans received gave him the closure he never got when he returned from the war. “I will never forget that,” he said.
The trip, paid for through private donations, also included the Air Force and Navy memorials.
Source: The Observer (Opelika Observer)
Opelika Daily News — Wednesday Report, Sept. 30, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
