‘Our page of history’ | Women veterans celebrate 28 year reunion on Q-C Honor Flight

Angela Whiston and Anita Gipson walked through the Quad Cities International Airport arm in arm Tuesday night.

The pair from Tennessee and Louisiana were joined by Sidney Walker of Arizona and Lisa Olson of Moline. The latter was described as the “fearless leader” of the four, and the one who brought them back together after 28 years apart.

The United States Army Veterans were among six women who flew on the 67th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities. Whiston was the first to arrive in Darmstadt, Germany, in 1995. Walker and Olson joined her in 1996, and Gipson in 1997.

“We all went to Albania together, and we just were amazing,” Olson said of the group. She’s credited by the other three for bringing everyone together and solidifying a nearly three-decade friendship. “In addition to working, we were also friends on the weekends and holidays and stuff like that, and it’s just a friendship we’ve maintained over the years. But, we never got to see each other.”