Joe Gorsuch, an Ashland County resident and Ohio Air National Guard veteran, was among 26 veterans on the Ashland County Veterans Honor Bus’s 22nd trip to Washington, D.C., according to Ashland Source. The bus left Ashland on Nov. 6 around 6:30 a.m. with 41 other passengers and returned Sunday evening to Southview Grace Brethren Church. Gorsuch served in a Toledo unit from 1980 to 2002, the outlet reported.
Community members greeted the group at the church. State troopers, sheriff’s deputies, and Ashland police and fire units escorted the bus from U.S. 250 to the church. The three-day schedule included the Flight 93 National Memorial and a nighttime tour of the World War II, Korean War and Lincoln memorials.
Sites on the second day included the Vietnam Wall and the Lincoln Memorial Undercroft, plus the National Military Memorial and the Desert Shield/Desert Storm Memorial. The last of those opened in October 2026, according to the report. Participants also visited the American History Museum and the National Museum of the United States Army, with optional stops at the Pentagon Memorial and Capitol/Disabled American Veterans Memorial.
The final day included Arlington National Cemetery and a wreath presentation at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Elaine Hess, co-founder and director of the honor bus program, told Ashland Source that five Mapleton High School students served as guardians this year. She said the program runs two fall trips annually. The Norma Foundation funds jackets, and community donors cover veterans’ costs; companions pay a small fee. A waiting list for 2027 has begun, with applications sent in summer, according to the report.