In May of 2005, the very first Honor Flight brought a handful of WWII veterans from Ohio to their newly opened Memorial in Washington, D.C. The trip was so impactful that a nationwide movement soon took root. Now, as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the very first Honor Flight, 130 active hubs across the country have combined to fly more than 320,000 senior war heroes to our nation’s capital.
Honor Flight Chicago was born in 2008 and quickly grew to become the most prolific hub in the Network. Last week we completed our 121st mission, bringing 111 senior veterans with us to D.C. The flight was a milestone of sorts for us as the very first to comprise all Vietnam War veterans. Many served in-country and many served elsewhere around the globe. Several served in the late 1950s and others still in the first half of the 1970s, but all served during the 20-year time period we use to define the Vietnam Era. ALL deserved the rambunctious and celebratory Welcome Home they received on May 14 at Midway!
The fact that HFC121 was made up of only Vietnam veterans is not to say we are done flying our WWII and Korean War heroes. We still have a couple of WWII veterans and several dozen Korean War veterans in the queue to fly this year, and we’re still receiving new applications. If you know one of our most-senior war heroes and they haven’t flown yet, now is the time!
At the same time, many of our Vietnam veterans are the same age or older than the WWII veterans were when we flew them in our earliest years. This reason – chief among many – is why we continue to fly at the increased volume we have achieved since our return from COVID in the fall of 2021.
The impact of the experience continues to be necessary and profound. As Don Nixon told us last week: “My idea of not getting a proper home coming many years ago wasn’t just my imagination. Honor Flight Chicago proved to me that none of us Vietnam vets ever did. I still can’t believe yesterday really happened. This was an emotional event in my life. I thank you and the rest of the organization from the bottom of my heart.”
As you are out in your communities, continue to thank our veterans when you see them and ask if they’ve had their long-deserved Day of Honor. Now 20 years into our mission, our goal is to continue making a life-changing impact on our veterans for the next 20 and beyond.
See you next month!
Edna Ho and Doug Meffley
Directors, Honor Flight Chicago
“It was a wonderful experience, a life-changing event. I am so impressed with Honor Flight Chicago. Everyone came together to make it such a great experience for all of us.”
— Vietnam Veteran Jeff Monahan
“You and your group outdid yourselves yesterday. What an awesome experience. I was in tears half the day.”
— Vietnam Veteran Mike Lareau
“I couldn’t believe how many volunteers there were everywhere. I couldn’t believe the number of people at Midway. Mail Call was a surprise and I enjoyed the day with my Guardian. We cracked everyone up. I met another “nuke” who served on the USS Enterprise just a bit after I did. There aren’t that many of us, so the odds of that are so slim, to find someone on the same flight on the same day are incredible.”
— Vietnam Veteran Edward Thoele
“It was a fabulous day all around. Way beyond my expectations. I enjoyed going to the War Memorials and reflecting. The music at the WWII Memorial was touching. The welcome made me tear up and the mail really touched me. It couldn’t have been any better. I’ve run events before and everything about the day was extremely professional, well-trained and worked well together.”
— Vietnam Veteran Frank Haggerty
“It was really great, hell AMAZING!!!! The day was fun, full of camaraderie and…….Honor. The return to Midway was over the top with all of the orange and green volunteers, and the ‘runway’ thru the ‘welcoming party lines’!!! I think I pretty much cried thru the majority of that! I was just overwhelmed by the whole thing. Aside from all of the days activities, I was seriously amazed at the amount of Volunteers that were on both sides of the trip.”
— Vietnam Veteran Robert Kowalsky
“What a wonderful experience Honor Flight Chicago was, unforgettable. Thanks so much for all your support! It brought me to tears, to see all the people that came together to honor our service men and women. I’m proud to be an American!”
— Vietnam Veteran Chuck Bauman
