by George Kerestes, NPS Volunteer and friend of Honor Flight

Mr. James McLaughlin, Honor Flight Chairman of the Board, is responsible for arranging transportation and guardians for all of our Lone Eagle Veterans.  You will not see him escorting very large groups (100s) of World War II Veterans; rather you will see him with a smaller group from dozen plus states.  From Honor Flight: “Lone Eagle is a WWII Veteran whose application has been in our national office for six months or more, yet they do not live close to one of our existing hub cities. Our definition of “close” is within a 120 mile radius of the airport used by the closest hub.  When we (Honor Flight) discover a veteran who qualifies for this program, we will make every effort to fly them from a large commercial airport nearest their home.”

THIS is where the tireless efforts of Jim is focused, just as it was on Saturday, August 15 when he and 16 veterans (from 14 States) along with 18 Guardians arrived at the Memorial on another hot August day.  Also greeting the veterans was Senators Robert and Elizabeth Dole (and Leader II – ”the four legged one).  There were no other Honor Flights today and that allowed the veterans to spend some quality time at THEIR memorial along with visits the Arlington National Cemetery, Korean Veterans Memorial, and the Iowa Jima Memorial. 

The images from today are available at the PHOTO SITE. 

Honor Flight is featured in the Jewel of the Mall: World War II Memorial book.