Above: Honor Flight New England pays tribute to veterans at a recent sendoff for participants traveling to war memorials in DC (image posted to Facebook)
Southborough’s VFW Commander Steve Whynot asked me to reach out to WWII and Korean War veterans and their families. He wants to share information on the inspirational Honor Flight – New England program.
This program honors those Veterans by flying them to Washington DC at NO COST to the Veteran – with visits the WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery.
The cost for an escort – usually a family member is $400.00. The experience to visit the Memorials in honor of our Veterans – Priceless.
The program is about more than just the travel experience. It’s about paying public tribute to the veterans for their service. As Whynot previously explained to me:
At each Honor Flight – A Flag line of Veterans, Cadets, Scouts, family, friends etc. are present when these Veterans arrive at Logan to begin their flight… It is something quite amazing and moving.
If you are interested in supporting the program, you can donate here. Or you can give your time for a little flag waving and cheering at Logan.
The next trips are scheduled for September 18 and October 16th. (Whynot informed me that he was proud to see some scouts from town at a sendoff last year.) For details, click here.
If you are a veteran/family member interested in learning more about the program, you can check out their website and Facebook page. [Note: The website posts that 2016 trips are full. But you can apply for trips in 2017. All applications are date stamped upon arrival, Honor Flight Honorees are selected in the order that that the application is received with priority to WWII and Terminally Ill Veterans, followed by Korean Veterans.]
Commander Whynot would also be happy to discuss the opportunity. You can email him at sk1_whynot@hotmail.com. Plus, you can read about a Northborough resident’s experience this past April as covered by the Community Advocate.
Below are a few more images from Facebook of the sendoff experience and trip:
