Federal Drive

Honor Flight is fighting the clock to honor vets

The Honor Flight Network gets vets here, all expenses paid, to see the National World War II Memorial.

Federal News Network Staff

November 19, 2009 12:05 pm

2 min read

wfedstaff | June 2, 2015 11:59 pm

Download audio

By Suzanne Kubota
Senior Internet Editor
FederalNewsRadio.com

World War II veterans are coming to Washington DC this weekend to see the memorial dedicated to their service.

The Honor Flight Network transports these heroes so that every veteran of that war, Korea and Vietnam, can see how they are being honored by a grateful nation. But these vets are running out of time.

With thousands of vets on the waiting list, Earl Morse, the President of Honor Flight, explained how they decide who will be on the flight.

“Our number one priority is actually all terminally ill veterans. If there’s a Korean or a Vietnam veteran out there that has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and they’ve never been able to visit their memorial, they go to the top of the list.”

Those veterans are called “TLCs”. Morse told FederalNewsRadio “TLC doesn’t stand for Tender Loving Care. All of the veterans get that. It stands for Their Last Chance.”

Next on the priority list are the veterans of World War II, the Korean and Vietnam wars.

“We haven’t figured out yet,” said Morse, “which veterans do not deserve to see their memorials in Washington, DC.”

Honor Flight is dependent on volunteers and they have some very special help at the local airports. Morse said the flights have been running for the past five years, so when the flights arrive, the volunteer ranks get a little boost from airport employees.

They make announcements overhead. They say, “ladies and gentlemen, if you’re not doing anything for the next 10, 15 minutes, there’s a planeload of World War II veterans arriving at gate 27 B,” or something like that. “If you want to come down there and welcome them to their memorial… en route to their memorial, come on down.” And the outpouring of emotion and appreciation, and almost of reverence, for what they have accomplished, you see that happen on every arrival into Washington, DC. It is so moving and powerful.

The veterans, many in wheelchairs, are met and taken to “deluxe motorcoaches” to be taken to the memorials.

Morse said most of the visits to Washington are day trips. While the visits are short, it’s a powerful experience for volunteers and vets alike.

“It’s their memorial. They’ve earned it, they’ve waited 60 years to see it, and to be standing side by side with them when they witness it? I don’t know who gets more out of it. I think maybe we do.”

The last trip of the season will be this Saturday. Ice around the memorials is a concern over the winter, so the trips will start up again in May.

To volunteer or donate, or just to learn more about Honor Flight, go to HonorFlight.org