April 2024 Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight Coverage
BEDFORD, Va. (WFXR) — Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight will execute Mission 8 on April, 12-14 2024, taking area veterans from the Korea and Vietnam service eras to Washington D.C. free of charge.
The trip departed from the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia on Friday, April 12, 2024 at 10 a.m., and returned to the D-Day Memorial on Sunday, April 14 at approximately noon. The hub brought area veterans to the war memorials created in their honor and will be the journey of a lifetime for many who were never properly thanked for their service. Fifteen Vietnam War Veterans went on the April trip.
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.
National D-Day Memorial invites veterans to commemoration honoring D-Day 80th anniversary
While veterans’ trip costs are paid for in full, guardians are asked to make a donation of $400 to cover their trip costs. Guardian applications are screened and accepted on a first come first served basis.
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 2024, the network has escorted over 295,000 Veterans to their memorials. Time is of the essence for our area WWII veterans. According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2023 statistics, just over 119,550 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II are alive today and 131 World War II veterans die each day.
Vietnam Veteran Philip Wallace, a retired Judge from Bedford, said of his October 2023 trip with Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight:
The fifty-three years of pent-up frustration, disappointment, and at times anger that Vietnam Veterans experienced, generated by the unexpected and undeserved negative treatment received upon our return home has to an immeasurable degree been erased by my Honor Flight experience. This past weekend clearly established for me that our service is respected and that people like all of you involved in our trip have made it possible for us Vietnam Veterans to accept that we honorably served our country.”
Honor Flight taking local veterans to Washington D.C. in recognition of service
Honor Flight trips prioritize WWII and terminally ill veterans, with Korean, Vietnam, and later service eras considered on a space available basis. Honor Flight trips are free for Veterans. To apply as a veteran or a guardian on future trips or for more information, visit www.cswvirginiahonorflight.org.
Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization.
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