#Middlebury #Veterans
Last year the Honor Flights Network took 21,000 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War era veterans from around the country aboard flights to Washington, D.C. Over the years, non-profit HFN has taken over 200,000 veterans on these flights to see the memorials dedicated to them in the nation’s capital. Because of donations, the veterans themselves paid nothing for their trips.
The 2020 season will be starting in a few months. Are you able to go as a volunteer escort to help three veterans for one day? Can you host a fundraiser or donate money? With over 20,000 veterans on a wait list for a trip, volunteers and donations are the most crucial at this point.
Your first step is to look at the Honor Flight Network website at www.honorflight.org. Click on Hubs/Flights and find the black dot closest to you. All but five states have hubs with a total of 140 locations. Click on a dot and you’ll find contact information. Click on the website link for your hub. You’ll learn about the local group: fundraisers, links to refer a veteran and more.
If you’re a veteran who wants to go alone or with your family, you can go solo and meet up with the larger group in Washington, D.C., if you can secure your own funding and transportation. Another program is the Southwest Lone Eagle, for veterans who have been on the waiting list for more than one year and do not live within 120 miles of a hub. For veterans with a terminal illness, there is the TLC programs, meaning Their Last Chance.
For more information, or if there isn’t a hub in your state, call Honor Flight at 937-521-2400.
Note to veterans: use of a wheelchair or oxygen are not obstacles to going on one of these trips.
© 2020 King Features Synd., Inc.
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