Honor Flight Network pays tribute to veterans

Folks, I have just returned from one of the most memorable trips of my life. It was back to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial made possible by the Honor Flight Network. I want to share with you my personal experiences, but first, I want to tell you about the amazing organization that made it all happen.

 There were 35 vets on our trip and I think they would join me in saying that the whole experience was planned and expedited perfectly. The few facts and figures below are from the history of Honor Flight. Google the name and you will be rewarded with a wealth of information, plus pictures.

The first Honor Flight took place in 2005 when six small planes flew from Springfield, Ohio, taking 12 World War II veterans to the memorial in Washington, D.C. By August  2005, there was a waiting list of veterans wanting to take the trip and, for the first time, commercial airlines were used. This was the beginning of the Honor Flight Network, which has expanded to other cities across the country. Inland Northwest Honor Flight is a regional hub of the national organization, started in May 2009. Its mission is to “transport Inland Northwest war veterans to Washington D.C. to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.”

The Honor Flight Network program was started by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain. Over the span of 27 years, he had cared for numerous veterans and was searching for a way to honor them for their service to their country.

He determined that the majority of the veterans he treated wanted to visit their memorial in Washington, D.C., but for many it was physically and financially impossible. Seeing the situation, he was determined to find a way to fly war veterans back to see their memorials free of charge. That dream eventually led to the birth of the Honor Flight Network.

In December 2004, Morse, a private pilot, personally flew one of his patients, a World War II veteran, to Washington, D.C., free of charge. One week later, he repeated the flight with another veteran. In January 2005, he spoke to the members of an aero club and asked their help to make his dream become a reality. He asked the group of 150 pilots for volunteers to fly veterans back to Washington, D.C., on these terms: The veterans pay nothing and the pilot would personally escort the veterans around D.C. for the entire day. On that day, 11 pilots volunteered and Honor Flight was born.

The concept of Honor Flight was contagious and soon there were more pilots who volunteered and more vets looking forward to the experience of a lifetime. In fact, in 2005, so many veterans wanted to make the trip that commercial aircraft were used to accommodate 40 veterans at a time, including many in wheelchairs.

By 2006, the mission of Honor Flight had started to move across the country with the goal of having a hub in all 50 states by the end of 2009. By September 2007, Honor Air out of Hendersonville, N.C., and Henderson County, N.C., were the first city and the first county in the nation to fly 100 percent of their World War II veterans to their memorials.

In May 2008, Southwest Airlines donated thousands of free tickets, and was named the official commercial carrier of the Honor Flight Network. This donation made it possible for more veterans to make the trip back to D.C. to visit the memorials.

The current focus of Honor Flight has been mostly on World War II veterans. Based on recent 2008 statistics, World War II veterans are dying at the rate of approximately 1,000 per day. Subsequent to the World War II veterans, the efforts of Honor Flight will focus on the Korean War and Vietnam War veterans, followed by veterans of more current wars.

The remarkable success of the Honor Flight program is evident. The first year, 2005, saw 137 veterans make the trip to their memorial. Four years later, 2009, there were 17,832 veterans safely transported to see their memorials, and at no cost to the veterans. All expenses were met by volunteers and individual/corporate tax deductible donations. The statistics for 2010 will be interesting to see.