Luke's Wings To Troops: "You Can Go Home Again"

Be sure to check out all 88 of our photographs from this event HERE and tell us what you were wearing that night!

NORTHWEST -- The goal for the night was a simple one, yet nevertheless daunting: To raise the necessary funds to reunite three hospitalized servicemen and women with their families during the holiday season.

And so, with their mission in-hand, the host committee behind Luke's Wings -- a 501(c)3 organization that provides travel planning and airplane tickets to the families of wounded warriors currently hospitalized at medical and rehabilitation centers all over the country -- set out to create a first class fall event for District residents.

Thanks to the support of On Tap Magazine and Bobby Van's Grill, plans for Saturday night's celebration quickly emerged.

$75 bought attendees ($50 for military personnel) access to an evening of beer tastings, including a complimentary menu prepared specially for the night. A Beck's Dark Lowenbrau from Germany might thus be paired with bites of smoky sausage, while an Asian Kirin Ichiban Tiger would be matched with a plate of beef filet dumplings.

As guests moved from station-to-station (or continent to continent as the case might be), DJ Neekola kept the cavernous atrium adjacent to the New York Avenue-based steakhouse buzzing.

We spotted everyone from ABC 7's Natasha Barrett (the party's guest MC) to 94.7 FRESH FM's Tommy McFly (still talking about that afternoon's Blondes vs. Brunettes powderpuff game) to the Washington Examiner's Katy Adams mingling about that night.

Ambassadors from the Redskins Cheerleading organization were also on-hand to talk with fans and sign squad calendars, and a handful of classic American cars had been parked out front courtesy of Flemings Ultimate Garate.

A room chalked full of autographed sports memorabilia and prized gift packages had been set aside for the night's silent auction and even the suggested door donation from the afterparty was to be donated back to the non-profit so that it could achieve its goal.

Of course, the evening was off to a surprising start when one generous guest singlehandedly volunteered to cover the travel costs of one wounded warrior's family for the holidays!

A first class crowd on a first class night...

To make a donation to Luke's Wings, please visit the organization's website.

Be sure to check out all 88 of our photographs from this event HERE and tell us what you were wearing that night!