VETERANS POST

Honor Flights 2023

By the time you read this, the first Honor Flights of the year will be taking place.

Honor Flights are free trips to Washington, D.C., for veterans, a day of visiting the memorials and monuments dedicated to their service. The trips leave from one of 124 hubs around the country, with all details managed by a crew of volunteers. In 2022, there were 21,800 veterans who made the Honor Flights and 18,709 guardians with them. Since starting in 2005, Honor Flights have escorted over a quarter of a million veterans on these trips.

Because of the ages of elderly veterans, flights are currently restricted to veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War eras.

For those not near a hub, or for those in the five states without hubs, there is the Lone Eagle program (loneeagle.honorflight.org). Any veteran is eligible, but priority is given to veterans from the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam eras. Each veteran needs to have a guardian along on the trip. Children or grandchildren are eligible, but they must be 18 years or older.

For veterans who are seriously ill (and who have less than one year to live), there is the TLC program. TLC in this case is taken to mean Their Last Chance — veterans who might not have time in the future to make a regular Honor Flight. Each TLC veteran needs to have one guardian, a trained caregiver who will manage all the required medical care for that veteran. The costs are picked up by a donor. For specific info, contact Bobbie Bradley at 937-521-2400 ext 104.

To see the 2023 schedule and learn more about Honor Flights, go to honorflight.org.

Will you open your wallet to send a few dollars to Honor Flights to help more veterans make the trip? They’re a nonprofit with a four-star Charity Navigator rating. You can donate online at the website or send a check to Honor Flight, Box L-4016, Columbus, OH 43260-4016.