Salt Lake City International Airport. Plans are underway there for a USO military lounge. (Alex Cabrero, KSL-TV)
SALT LAKE CITY – You have seen them in other airports, and while Salt Lake City is not yet operational, a USO military lounge is expected to open at the new airport.
“Having this facility really is kind of a capstone, if you will,” said Bill Wyatt.
Wyatt is the director of Salt Lake City International Airport and is delighted with the lounge. A USO lounge is like any other airport lounge except that it is reserved for military personnel and their families only.
“Veterans and service members really are a significant part of the traveling public,” said Wyatt.
As Salt Lake continues to expand its new airport, the administrators figured they had the space to build one and joined the 40 other US airports that have a USO lounge.
There are more than 30,000 military personnel in Utah, according to USO, which made Salt Lake City a great place to open a lounge.
But no one would have been more excited about the airport arrival announcement than Alvin Chung. Three years ago, Chung was a JROTC member at Taylorsville High School and started a letter and petition writing project to get a USO lounge.
“We have a brand new airport here and there is plenty of room to drop a USO for any veteran passing through,” said Chung. “Why don’t we do it?”
Although he has never heard from heads of state, he now wonders if maybe his little project helped raise initial awareness to get things going.
His former JROTC teacher is proud of this and uses him as a role model for his current students.
“We’re talking to the students now and they don’t understand because it’s like you have a voice and you can use that voice and make changes,” said SFC. Konrad Wilson. “You can do great things.”
Chung decided not to pursue a military career after high school; However, he says the lessons he has learned will last him a lifetime.
“Although I wasn’t able to hold out and quit, it just sparked an idea and got it public,” he said.
If everything goes as expected, his little idea will become reality in late autumn 2021.
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