The brotherhood found between the men and women that have served in the military is one forged through countless trails and hardships. For many veterans, it is one that can never be forgotten. But as time and age marches on, so too does the memory of their sacrifice.
However, there are people that have made honoring these veterans’ service their sacred mission. Honor Flight is one of those organizations that has put reverence into action.
Founded in 2005 by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain, the first Honor Flight flew 12 World War II veterans to Washington D.C. to see the various memorials. Afterwards, the organization quickly grew into a nationwide initiative and led to the formal creation of the Honor Flight Network in 2006.
The program flies or busses veterans, along with a guardian, who have served from the beginning of World War II to the end of the Vietnam War free of charge to see and experience the different memorials around Washington D.C.. It’s something that veterans who have attended call an experience of a lifetime.
“It’s actually very, very emotional,” said Kelly Whiteman, Vice President of Honor Flight’s Dayton chapter. “It’s amazing to see the looks on their faces when they realize that that they weren’t forgotten, and that people do care.”
Whiteman, an Army veteran herself, has been involved with Honor Flight Dayton since 2012, when she started going with her dad who volunteered his motor home to help transport veterans who could not fly.
She spoke of the difficulty that some veterans have opening up about their experiences, and how the trips not only offer a chance for these veterans to see the memorials, but also a chance to be around other veterans who have shared their experience.
“We get a lot of calls from families and letters and emails from families after the fact that say that they wouldn’t really talk about things. And then after they’ve been on this trip with a lot of veterans that understand how they’re feeling and where they’ve been and what’s going on, it’s just like a weight lifted from their shoulders,” Whiteman said.
After the trips, many of the veterans have returned home with a better outlook.
“They come back home and they talk to their families, and they just seem to be in a much better place,” Whiteman said.
The importance of paying homage to the veterans is something that is not lost upon Whiteman, who described why these trips are so emotional for some of these veterans, especially Vietnam War veterans.
“A lot of people learn about how the Vietnam veterans were treated when they came back, and it was pretty horrible. So we try to give them that welcome home,” she said. “And throughout the day in DC, there are kids on up to other veterans to stop and thank them and shake their hand and give them hugs and stop and talk to them.
“So it’s just neat to see the transition for them, see the difference that it makes for them.”
Since her involvement, Whiteman has seen the number of veterans that attends these start to decline mainly resulting from old age. Whiteman also notes how many veterans simply don’t know about Honor Flight.
As an organization that relies entirely on donations, there is not a lot of room for a large marketing budget. Honor Flight Dayton is one of roughly 140 chapters nationwide and does most of their outreach through social media.
These donations are a mix of companies like the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW,) veterans and citizens who have never served in the military.
“Even kids that have had lemonade stands will donate money… We’re just always looking for ways to get the word out so people can hear about honor flight,” Whiteman said.
Honor Flight Dayton is evolving with the times. A memorial dedicated to the men and women who served during Operation Desert Storm and Desert Shield is currently being built in D.C.. Once the memorial is finished Honor Flight will start taking those veterans as well.
Honor Flight also focuses on other initiatives like their Honoring Yesterday’s Heroes program where a family member of a veteran can send in a picture for the Honor Flight team to display with a folded flag in front of the memorial of the war they served in.
They are also always looking for volunteers within the community and have open application on their website for people interested in being a veterans guardian on one of their trips.
For more information on how to donate or get involved, check out the Honor Flight Dayton website.
Noah Schlarman, executive editor
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