Honor Flights
Honor Flight is a non-profit organization that recognizes American veterans for their sacrifices and achievements by flying them to Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials at no cost to the Veterans. Top priority is given to WWII and terminally ill veterans from all wars and then to Korean War Veterans, Veterans of other conflicts who may be terminally ill, and Vietnam War Veterans as seats are made available. In order for Honor Flight to achieve its goal, Guardians will fly with the veterans on every flight, providing assistance and helping veterans have a safe, memorable, and rewarding experience for their service to our Nation. The Honor Flight program is a nonprofit organization, and they want you to consider going on an Honor Flight as a token of their appreciation.
The Honor Flight Staff and Board of Directors do a tremendous amount of work and coordination to put on these Honor Flights. Just think of what's involved in making the trip, including air travel to get all the Veterans, Guardians, and Staff on the same flights, making hotel reservations, getting all the meals, ground transportation, etc., for a large size group of veterans, their Guardians, and support staff.
Honor Flights have Hubs in all states except Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Hawaii. If you live in one of the states that don't offer Honor Flights, you can submit an application from a neighboring state that offers this service.
I was honored this year to be selected to go on an Honor Flight from the Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico Hub. All I can say is this trip was truly an outstanding experience, especially meeting and getting to know the other veterans on this Honor Flight who served in WWII, the Korean War, and, like me, in the Vietnam War. I had applied to go on an Honor Flight a couple of years ago and received a call in May 2023 saying I was selected to go. I was pretty excited to get the call one evening, and the Board of Directors from Honor Flight calling me was just as excited as I was.
On our trip to Washington, D.C., the group of Veterans consisted of two WWII Veterans, eight Korean War Veterans, 15 Vietnam Veterans, our Guardians, a Flight Nurse, seven Honor Flight of Northern New Mexico Staff/Board Members, plus a newspaper reporter from Santa Fe, New Mexico.
We were all treated like royalty the entire trip with our Guardians watching over all of us. Here's a photo of the two WWII Army Veterans on our trip. The Army veteran on the left is Tommy Jewell and his son Tommy, Jr., who was his Guardian and is a former Judge in New Mexico. Tommy is 98 years young and fought in the Pacific during WWII. On the right is Felix Coca, 97 years young, who served in the Navy in both the Pacific and in Europe during WWII. His Guardian was his Grandson, Michael Beltran. Felix' own father served in the U.S. Army during World War I.
During the trip, as I mentioned above, each Veteran is paired with a Guardian who has volunteered their time toward the effort in getting you to Washington, D.C., and home. They ensure all of the Veteran's needs are met. Guardians pay their own way and a portion of their donation is tax deductible and covers all costs associated with the entire trip. The donation amount that each Guardian pays to go on an Honor Flights is different in each state, but again, the Veteran doesn't pay anything to go on an Honor Flight. I didn't select a Guardian for my Honor Flight so the Honor Flight organization here in New Mexico selected one for me. These Guardians really love what they do for us veterans and actually some of the Guardians on our trip were veterans themselves.
I attended a pre-flight meeting about 2-weeks before our flight would take us to Washington, D.C. and I met my Guardian, her name was Bethann Preston. Bethann has done 10 Honor Flights so far and she said she will do another one next month on the East Coast. She's really motivated and made my trip really enjoyable and fun! Her Father was a WWII Army-Tank Commander in Europe and was the sole survivor when his tank came under attack. Every Veteran is required to have a guardian for their trip. You can consider your son, daughter, grandson or granddaughter as your Guardian. Guardians must be 18 years of age and older. If you don't have a guardian, Honor Flight has a waiting list of those who are available and ready to travel with you.
Here's a photo of my Guardian, Bethann Preston, and myself at a dinner banquet at the Hilton Hotel after our visit to Washington, D.C.
Your Guardian is there to help with everything and ensure you have an unforgettable experience on your visit to Washington, D.C.
Because our group of veterans is located in the state of New Mexico, our trip was a total of three days, which two of those days was travel. If you live closer to Washington, D.C., and go on an Honor Flight, it could be for just one day…it all depends on the distance you live from Washington, D.C. We left on a Tuesday morning and arrived at the Baltimore-Washington Airport that night and stayed at the Baltimore Hilton. On Wednesday morning, we all assembled with our Guardians and boarded buses heading to Washington, D.C. On Thursday, we started our trip back home, and it was a true "Welcome Home" Celebration when we arrived back in Albuquerque.
I don't want to give away all the secret things we encountered on the trip, because if you happen to go, I want you to experience everything we experienced during the trip. All I can say is this was a once-in-a-lifetime trip that you can only experience with other veterans.
Again, the Honor Flight trip to our Nation's Capital is free of charge to the veterans and includes airfare, lodging, meals, and all transportation within the Washington, D.C. area.
My Honor Flight flew from Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (ABQ) to Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport. We had a lot of well-wishers greeting us at the BWI airport, and that was really nice and touching. We stayed at the BWI Hilton Hotel, which was close to the airport.
Veterans were paired with other veterans in the hotel rooms, and the Guardians were paired with other Guardians. My roommate was also a Navy Vietnam Veteran. The following morning, after breakfast, we all boarded buses heading to the WWII War Memorial in Washington, D.C. After our visit to the WWII Memorial, we walked down to the Vietnam War Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, and Lincoln Memorial and saw the Washington Monument.
We had lunch near the Korean War Veterans Memorial and then boarded buses for Arlington National Cemetery for the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
We boarded buses again and went to the U.S. Marine Corps Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, and then to the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial. We headed back to the Hilton Hotel in Baltimore, arriving at approximately 1800. We all met for a banquet dinner at 1900 and went back to our rooms around 2100. Here are a few photos taken while on this tour of the Nation's Capital and War Memorials:
World War II War Memorial
The Price of Freedom Plaque at WWII War Memorial
World War II War Memorial Wall with Stars
World War II Wall of Stars
Vietnam War Memorial Wall
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
Changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Arlington National Cemetery
Audie Murphy's headstone Arlington National Cemetery Near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial
Air Force Memorial
National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial (You can call and listen to the prerecorded messages that explains the building of the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial and the significance of the Memorial. Please Call 202-741-1004 to hear the prerecorded messages.) National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial lists names of those killed in the Pentagon and those who were on American Airlines Flight 77
The next morning, we had breakfast, packed our suitcases, and headed back to the airport for home.
When we arrived back at Albuquerque International Sunport Airport, we were met by the news media and many individuals welcoming us home and thanking us for our Service, including active-duty military personnel escorting us from the gate to our families.
Each one of us Veterans was treated like Kings, and our Guardians were especially helpful for taking care of us during the entire trip, never letting us get out of their sights. A big "Bravo Zulu" to the Honor Flight Staff and our volunteer Guardians. "Bravo Zulu" is a Naval Signal, conveyed by flag-hoist or voice radio, meaning "well done." All of the Staff members and some of the Guardians have full-time jobs in addition to families, and they still volunteer their time and energy to help the Veterans take a trip of a lifetime to the Nation's Capital to visit the War Memorials and Monuments.
There are Honor Flight Hubs throughout the U.S., and if you're interested in signing up, please read the information below. There's almost an Honor Flight Organization (they call Hubs) in each state, and some states have two or more Honor Flight Hubs. Please go to https://www.honorflight.org and click on "Find a Hub," and you will see where every state has an Honor Flight Hub. There are only six states without Honor Flight organizations, and they are Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Hawaii. There's a Schedule Tab on the Honor Flights Homepage where you can see a list of all scheduled Honor Flights throughout the Nation and when they travel to the Nation's Capital.
Honor Flight now offers an easy ONLINE way to apply as a veteran. The form is easy to use, and just go to the following website: https://loneeagle.honorapps.org/public/veteran-registration to get started, or you can go to your state's Honor Flight Hub to sign up.
You can also go to the Honor Flight Homepage, click on "Lone Eagle and TLC Programs," and click on "APPLY NOW" at the top of the screen. If you prefer to download, print, and mail the veteran application, you can download it by going to the following website: https://www.loneeagle.honorapps.org/wpcontent/uploads/2022/07/Lone-Eagle-Veteran-Application2022.pdf The waiting list to get called varies from state to state so the state you apply it will normally tell you how long the wait time is.
Honor Flight will call you once your name in line has been reached.
Bob Barnett is a retired Command Master Chief and Chairman of the Swift Boat Sailors Association and a Director for the Association of the United States Navy.