Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight will execute Mission 5 on October 21 through 23, taking veterans from our area to Washington D.C. free of charge.
The trip will depart from and return to the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford.
The hub will be bringing area veterans from the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam eras to the war memorials created in their honor. They said this will be the journey of a lifetime for many who were never properly thanked for their service.
World War II veteran Jim Warren described his April 2018 Honor Flight as a “life-changing trip as it showed us that we are heroes regardless of our activity during the war. I am grateful to the [National Honor Flight] founders for what they have done for the thousands of veterans they have brought to DC to thank us for what we did.”
The Honor Flight Network began in 2005 to take World War II veterans to the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. at no cost to them.
As of 2022, the network has escorted over 250,000 veterans to their memorials.
Time is of the essence for our area WWII veterans. According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, just more than 240,000 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive today. The VA reports that 234 World War II veterans die each day.
Each veteran is also accompanied by a trained volunteer guardian whose mission is to assist the veteran in any way they can—by pushing wheelchairs, carrying belongings, or simply joining in a day full of celebration and reflection.
While veterans’ trip costs are paid for in full, guardians are asked to make a donation of $400 to cover their trip expenses. Guardian applications are screened and accepted on a first come first served basis.
Honor Flight trips prioritize WWII and terminally ill veterans, with Korean and Vietnam-era veterans considered on a space-available basis.
To apply either as a veteran or a guardian on future trips or for more information, visit www.cswvirginiahonorflight.org.