Honor Flight
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

An Honor Flight is conducted by
non-profit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
dedicated to transporting as many
United States military The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...
veterans as possible to see the memorials of the respective war(s) they fought in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, at no cost to the veterans. These organizations are focused on bringing veterans of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
to the
National World War II Memorial The World War II Memorial is a national memorial in the United States dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians during World War II. It is located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The memorial consists ...
, and any veteran with a terminal illness, to see the memorial of the war they fought in. Organizers plan to "naturally transition" their programs to focus on veterans of the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
, and subsequent wars as the veterans of those wars get older. Honor flights arrive at all three of the Washington's area airports:
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
,
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...
, and
Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fa ...
. The veterans are generally escorted by volunteer guardians, who help them on the flight and around DC. After landing, the taxiing airplane may be saluted by fire trucks, and passengers are often met by cheering crowds in DC or upon their return flight home.


Honor Flight Network

The Honor Flight Network is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which works as an umbrella organization with local chapters and various subgroups. The Honor Flight Network reports that it has flown over 244,000 veterans to the Washington, D.C. memorials since 2005.


History

The network was cofounded by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired
Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
captain, and Jeff Miller, a small business owner and son of a WWII veteran. Morse worked in a
Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
clinic in Springfield, Ohio, where he saw many patients who were World War II veterans. After the National World War II Memorial in Washington was completed in 2004, he asked many of his veteran patients if they were going to see it, and most said yes. "I would see my World War II veterans some three, six months later," Morse said, "and I'd ask them if they'd gone to see it. Three hundred of them, and not one of them had been to it. Reality set in. They were never going." Morse offered to fly with two veterans to Washington to see the memorial, and after seeing them break down and cry and graciously accept the offer, he pitched his idea to a local aeroclub of 300 private pilots at a local Air Force base, proposing that the pilots would pay for the flights for the veterans to Washington and personally escort them around the city. Eleven volunteered, and the network was formed; by 2005, a board was formed, funds were raised, and volunteers had joined. The first honor flight took place in May 2005, when six small planes flew 12 veterans to Washington, DC. Due to high participation, the program began using commercial flights. At the end of 2005, the program had transported 137 veterans to the memorial. In late 2005, Jeff Miller, a dry cleaning company owner in
Hendersonville, North Carolina Hendersonville is a city in Henderson County, North Carolina, United States. It is south of Asheville and is the county seat of Henderson County. Like the county, the city is named for 19th-century North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leon ...
, inspired by Morse's vision, had a similar idea but on a larger scale. Miller, the son of a World War II veteran and nephew of a B-24 bomber pilot who died in the war, had been a charter member of the National World War II Memorial Foundation. Like Morse, Miller lamented that many World War II veterans would be unable to visit the memorial. The seed that Morse had planted grew to a veritable forest of volunteerism, fundraising and goodwill toward the
Greatest Generation The Greatest Generation, also known as the G.I. Generation and the World War II generation, is the Western demographic cohort following the Lost Generation and preceding the Silent Generation. The generation is generally defined as people born ...
veterans, who had been too busy building their communities to demand recognition for wartime service. On September 23 and 24 and November 4 in 2006, HonorAir flew more than 300 World War II veterans from the Asheville Regional Airport to Washington D.C., free of charge. HonorAir provided everything: a medical doctor and several
EMTs An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
, guardians who would attend to the needs of three to four veterans each, tour buses to take them the World War II Memorial and other national memorials, and a box lunch. Ticket agents and passengers lined the ropes as veterans emerged from the charter jets into the terminal. ''
CBS Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine television program that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and original hos ...
'' aired a moving feature about the HonorAir effort in September 2006.
Bill Geist William Geist is an American retired author, columnist, and television journalist. Early life Geist was born on May 10, 1945 in Champaign, Illinois. He served in the United States Army as a combat photographer with the 1st Infantry Division ...
updated the story in 2007 because it was a story that was so important to him. The Springfield group and HonorAir soon merged to form the Honor Flight Network which was headquartered in Springfield, Ohio. Both Jeff Miller and Earl Morse were awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal in 2008 for their extensive work with bringing the program together. In 2019 Honor Flight national headquarters moved to Arlington Virginia. Many veterans, both men and women, have been honored with flights to Washington D.C.. In 2015 the first all-female Honor Flight was held, with 140 female veterans. On May 21, 2021, Honor Flight will celebrate their 16th Anniversary of their first Honor Flight trip. Since that first flight in 2005, Honor Flight has transported over 244,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit their memorials.


Logistics

Flights arrive in any of Washington's three area airports:
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport , sometimes referred to colloquially as National Airport, Washington National, Reagan National Airport, DCA, Reagan, or simply National, is an international airport in Arlington County, Virginia, across ...
,
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport , commonly referred to as BWI or BWI Marshall, is an international airport in the Eastern United States serving mainly Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C. With Dulles Interna ...
, and
Washington Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport , typically referred to as Dulles International Airport, Dulles Airport, Washington Dulles, or simply Dulles ( ), is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located in Loudoun County and Fa ...
. Southwest Airlines is the official commercial airline of the Honor Flight Network, although the network utilizes many national airlines. The veterans on the Honor Flights are escorted by volunteer guardians, who help them on the flight and around the D.C. area. An Honor Flight of 100 people, including veterans and volunteers can cost between $30,000 to $175,000 depending on what area of the country the flight originates from. Costs are covered by donations with assistance from the airline. By 2012, the group had expanded to include 114 chapters; in 2021, the movement had grown to 133 chapters serving veterans in 45 states and the District of Columbia. As of March 2020 Honor Flight has flown more than 244,897 veterans to Washington, D.C..


Heroes' Welcome

Heroes' Welcome is a sub-group of the Honor Flight Network which organizes welcoming ceremonies for the Honor Flights at the three Washington-area airports. Heroes' Welcome is a project of the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 180 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
. The ceremonies typically involve a group waiting inside or outside the gate where the flight arrives, clapping and cheering as they walk in. Active duty military members are often present, as are other volunteers such as school children.


Triangle Flight of Honor

A similar but independent organization organized flights for veterans in the area of North Carolina known as " The Triangle". The Triangle Flight of Honor has organized eight flights, each serving over 100 veterans. The trips originated from Raleigh Durham International Airport and concluded with a "Heros Welcome" return with marching bands, local celebrities, and attended by thousands of family members, friends, and area residents.


''Honor Flight'' film

The premiere of the 2012 documentary ''Honor Flight: One Last Mission'' at
Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium used primarily for baseball. It is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, just southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Milwauk ...
in
Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...
, Wisconsin, set a new Guinness World Record for the largest attendance at a film premiere: 28,442 people. The film, shown on a video board, depicts the lives of four World War II veterans who were part of the first Honor Flight from Milwaukee's Stars and Stripes Honor Flight Hub.


Legislation

On 9 June 2014, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) introduced the " Honor Flight Act" in Congress. This bill would direct the
Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...
(TSA) to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling on an Honor Flight to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service. It became law on 16 December of the same year, after being passed in the House and the Senate without amendment.


References


External links

* {{official, https://www.honorflight.org
''Honor Flight''
at
IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
, 2012 film about World War II veterans and a community. Charities based in Ohio Veterans' affairs in the United States Organizations established in 2005 American veterans' organizations Tourism in Washington, D.C.