Thank you for your interest in being a DC-Based Volunteer with Honor Flight Chicago,  and welcome to our 2026 season. As volunteers, we have a unique opportunity to honor our military veterans in a wonderful and memorable way. Honor Flight Chicago, now in its 18th season, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose current mission is to bring WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans from the greater Chicago area to Washington, DC to see the memorials dedicated in their honor, at no cost to the veteran.  We have now flown over 12,200 vets!

We would like to thank our returning volunteers for your continued passion for our veterans and our mission to Honor, Thank, and Inspire them!  We could not have gotten this far without your dedication.

Here are the dates for HFC’s 2026 Season:

  • Wednesday, April 15
  • Wednesday, May 20
  • Wednesday, June 24
  • Wednesday, July 29
  • Wednesday, August 26
  • Wednesday, September 23
  • Wednesday, October 28

There are three opportunities to be a DC Based Volunteer with Honor Flight Chicago.  You can volunteer to be a Flight Guardian, on the Ground Crew, or a Greeter.  You can even volunteer in different positions for different flight dates.  Just follow the instructions on how to apply for each position. All volunteers will be issued a placard for free parking in a designated lot.


IMPORTANT: REAL ID Requirement

TSA now requires you to have a State Issued Real ID Card/Driver’s License to pass through security. For you to be able to accompany your Chicago Veteran to their departure gate at the end of the day, you will need with you one of the following forms of ID:

  • Real ID Card
  • or Valid Passport / Passport Card
  • or Veteran’s Health ID Card
  • or DOD ID Card
  • or DHS Trusted Traveler Card (Global Entry, Nexxus, etc.)
  • or IAD Badge

A REGULAR DRIVER’S LICENSE IS NO LONGER ACCEPTED.


VOLUNTEER OPTION ONE: FLIGHT GUARDIAN

This volunteer opportunity requires your support for the entire flight day, from approximately 8:15am until 7:30pm.  In addition to greeting the Veterans, you will accompany them on their daylong journey through our nation’s capital. This is a rare and extraordinary opportunity to hear historical accounts firsthand from the men and women who served.  You must be at least 18 years old, healthy and able-bodied, and be able to push a wheelchair all day (if needed). All volunteers are responsible for their own transportation to and from Dulles Airport to meet the Honor Flight Chicago flights.  You will travel with the Veterans by bus, and return to Dulles Airport at the end of the day.  Parking at the airport will be free to all volunteers.

Flight Guardians are comprised of two roles:  Veteran Guardians and Floaters.  Please realize, that we do need to have Volunteers with no Veterans to act in the very important supporting role of Floater, to ensure the well-being of all our bus occupants.  We encourage all Floaters to still interact with the Veterans as much as possible.

As a Veteran Guardian, you will be the Veteran’s “buddy” for the entire day.  It will be your responsibility to ensure the safety of your Veteran, and also to ensure they have the best possible experience on their day of honor. You will be helping them on and off the buses, escorting them around the memorials, pushing their wheelchair if needed, listening to their stories, and learning about their time in service.

We ask you to use your cell phone or digital camera to help capture photos of your Veteran throughout the day, especially at their memorial.  If you use your cell phone, you will be provided with a number of where to text your photos during the day.  If you use a camera, toward the end of the day, we will borrow your memory card so the professional photographers can download your pictures onto a master hard drive to be reviewed and possibly posted once they return to Chicago.

The itinerary generally consists of stops at the Iwo Jima Memorial, Air Force Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln/Vietnam/Korean Memorials, and the Udvar-Hazy Air & Space Museum. Lunch and dinner are provided for all Flight Guardians and Veterans. Water, soda, Gatorade, and snacks are provided throughout the day. (We are unable to provide our volunteers with special meals if you have any dietary restrictions, so we ask that if you have any dietary issues that you bring your meals with you.)  The first time you volunteer, you will receive an Honor Flight Chicago Guardian polo shirt to wear and keep for any future flights. The shirt must be worn for the entire day unless you are in military uniform.

All volunteers wishing to be a Flight Guardians are required to submit a new application every season.

Once you have submitted your application, with the flight date(s) you would like to support selected, we will mark them in our database.  Two weeks prior to the flight(s) you have selected, you will receive a notification asking you to confirm your availability. You will not be considered in assisting with that mission until you confirm your availability.  The logistical information on how to support that particular flight will follow 1 week before the flight.

Feel free to reach out to us at dcguardians@honorflightchicago.org should you have any questions.

OPTION TWO: GROUND CREW

If you are not able to join us for the entire day but are able to assist the Veterans as they disembark the plane in the morning and/or board the plane in the evening, we could use your help.  You need to have a Real ID or an active IAD Airport Badge to get through TSA Security.  You are needed from approximately 8:45am until 11:00am the morning of the flight and/or from 5:00pm until 6:30pm the evening of the flight. In the morning you will help guide our Veterans off the plane and through the airport, and assist in bringing wheelchairs and supplies off the plane to the buses.  In the evenings you will help guide the Veterans to and from the TSA checkpoint and to the gate.  The first time you volunteer, you will receive an Honor Flight Chicago Ground Crew polo shirt to wear and keep for any future flights.

We have created a registration webpage for Ground Crew in order to issue you a Gate Pass to get through TSA Security, and a parking placard for free parking in the designated lot.

Two weeks prior to the flight(s) you have selected, you will receive a notification asking you to confirm your availability.   Once we receive your confirmation, we will email you with more detailed information.

If you have any questions, please email dcguardians@honorflightchicago.org

OPTION THREE: GREETER

Greeters attend the arrival and/or departure of the Veterans to provide a Hero’s Welcome at the main terminal of Dulles Airport. You will be able to shake their hands, as you welcome them to DC or wish them safe travels back to Chicago, and most of all, thank them for their service to our country.

Greeters are needed from approximately 9:15am until 11:00am the morning of the flight and/or from 5:30pm until 6:30pm the evening of the flight.

We have created a registration webpage for Greeters in order to provide a more consistent process across all IAD Honor Flight greetings, and ensure parking placards are available for all who request one.  You must register by the Monday before fight day in order to receive the parking placard.

You are still welcome to greet without registering, but you will have to pay for parking.

All registered greeters will receive an email notification the weekend prior to the flight date with detailed information on arrival time, free parking instructions, and meeting location.

If you have any questions about greeting, please email dcgreeters@honorflightchicago.org.

If you know of others who would like to join our Honor Flight Chicago Family, please forward this page to them.