Here’s a custom book too expensive too distribute except electronically so have a look for FREE!!! Thanks again to HBO, American Airlines, Spielberg, Hanks, Dole, Morse, Miller, McLaughlin and all who took part for a rousing start to the Honor Flight New Year! It was definitely very cool! Honor Flight is now featured in the […]
Four hundred WWII Veterans and their guardians followed by Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Senator Elizabeth Dole and a cast of celebrities, dignitaries, and military leaders were lead by bagpiper Jeff Burton into the main Plaza of the WWII Memorial this past Thursday. The only person missing was Senator Robert Dole who I have on some authority is recuperating […]
Pelosi, Reid, Boehner, McConnell to Hold Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony to Honor the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII LONG OVERDUE!!!…., there will be ceremonies at the Air Force Memorial this Tuesday and on Wednesday, the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor will be presented to WASPS (Women Aviators) who were never given credit for […]
HBO will be flying 250 veterans plus their guardians into Washington, DC on Wednesday and they will begin to assemble at the WWII Memorial around 11 on Thursday. The tentative schedule for the ceremony will be: 11:00am – 11:30am: Guests arrive at Memorial (seated in the Ceremonial Entrance Plaza) Vets (with their Guardians) will assemble near the Park Ranger Office (outside the […]
Hello Dedicated Honor Flight Ground Crew and NEW Volunteers! Honor Flight is starting the season off with a tremendous event. 400 WWII veterans from Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, New York, and Orlando are being flown to DC to view a screening of HBO “The Pacific” and to see the memorial built in their honor. We have […]
In preparation for Honor Flight season and several flights that are requesting multiple guardians from the local area – we are scheduling Guardian Training for any who would be interested in attending. The training will be held at: American Legion Dyer Gunnell Post 180 330 North Center Street Vienna, VA 22180 1-3 PM or 1300-1500 “The […]
Historical Footage: Japanese Surrender Signing Aboard Battleship Missouri Sunday Sept. 2, 1945. From Rick Sage in Michigan, I got the following information: “This is an actual film made of the surrender ceremony of the Japanese to McArthur in Tokyo Bay in September 1945. You can hear the actual voice of the General. Never been shown to the […]
Bob Morrison brought up wheelchairs and Glen Anderson and Don Wiedle showed off a new lightweight chair that is relatively inexpensive. Dan Curtis of RC&D (just back from Afghanistan) mentioned a program in Kansas where prisoners renovate bikes and wheelchairs for redistribution. Chairs are damaged in transit but necessary to get the job done. Bill Dukes has brought three Honor […]
Honor Flight is holding a Summit at the BWI Hilton for all of the regional hubs. It starts on Friday and winds down on Sunday. There will be lectures on starting an Honor Flight, non-profit status, safety procedures, fund raising, etc… and a great opportunity for old friends to get together. I am very much […]
Jeff Miller, our co-founder (the guy who got the charter operations on the roll) from North Carolina wrote to tell me the Asheville Airport is having a contest and if you vote for the Hendersonville Printing Tree, they get money to send two Honor Flights so….as it’s all in our family, ….VOTE EARLY AND OFTEN!!! Please […]
Please check out our blog. The company that does our blog is Shakespeare Squared. They specialize in social marketing and do an amazing job with it every week. Please consider forwarding this link to friends and family to read. This is what Christmas should be about. http://honorflightchicago.org/hfcblog/hfcblog.php/ Have a look at Honor Flight Chicago’s not […]
From Judy Lemmons, Dir, Public Relations/Protocol Honor Flight Network CONGRATULATIONS to all the amazing, talented, selfless and dedicated volunteers who have time and again supported over 278 flights during 2009 with 17,832 vets and 8,704 guardians for a total of 35,996 veterans who have been blessed to visit their memorial over the past four years! […]
George Kerestes was interviewed by South Dakota’s Keloland Television and got a nice write up regarding his four years of greeting Veterans at the WWII Memorial. He says: “Now that I look back and realize these were my neighbors growing up and I never extended my hand,” Kerestes said. “So in my own way, this […]
Forwarded to Mary Pettinato, Honor Flight Chicago Hey Mary!! Today went amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We had the store decorated in red, white, and blue and it looked great!! So many Veterans showed up and it was great to see them all sit together with their coffee and donut and share stories! The Des Plaines city clerk also came by and sat […]
Lona Ichikawa (Honor Flight’s DC Ground Crew Chief and Judy Wybenga, Dulles Ground crew Chief held an end of season fund raising for the DC Ground Crew at American Legion Post 180 in Vienna, Virginia this weekend and also took the opportunity to recognize some of their volunteers. I will post the pictures later […]
Honor Air may have begun a new chapter with Southwest Airways sponsorship arranged by Judy Lemmons who is the glue that holds Honor Flight together. She and Susan Barr brought twenty-one veterans from California and their guardians to visit the Memorial and …it was obvious it wasn’t California. It was a “NorEaster” with gusty winds […]
A salute to my father Edward Brown on this Veterans Day. Like many WWII Veterans, he never made a fuss about his military service either before the war on a Destroyers at Pearl Harbor or during the war in Brazil where he was on the crew of a PBY (submarine hunter). He used to joke […]
And so if you were wondering where I’ve been in the past few weeks, I’ve been working on my latest book on DC and saving my energy up for today when 800 veterans plus guardians…a total of probably 1200 plus assorted military personnel, motorcycle police and riding groups, mounted police, guardians, school kids and relatives […]
Tomorrow may be our last tent day for the Honor Flight season. We have two tents bundles rented and 3 hubs scheduled to use the tents as shown on Diane’s HF schedule and I have volunteers to staff it. I am not sure about the 7th of November. I don’t know what the funding looks […]
Central Illinois and Northwest Ohio came in today and were greeted by Senator and Mrs. Dole. As you will notice, I made the photographs of the Central Illinois group on the 17th Street (Washington Monument) side of the World War II Memorial. Photographing groups on the 17th Street entrance is WONDERFUL and I would like […]
There were buses unloading on 178th Street today as Central Iowa Honor Flight alone brought in 350 veterans. The weather was perfect and with the addition of Central Missouri and Siouxland Honor Flights, the World War II Memorial was jam packed with veterans in a variety of blues and yellows. All told, between veterans and […]
Photos and text by George Kerestes, National Park Service and Pittsburgh Native On another beautiful fall day in Washington 100 World War II Veterans, plus their volunteers, visit their Memorial. Although not part of the Honor Flight Network, the Pittsburgh numbers are very impressive. The Pittsburgh group originated with Jim Hilts, of Coraopolis, a Vietnam War […]
Dear Editor: Fred Klein, Jack Kelly and Pamela Atkins.wrote 3 letters in CST concerning the Honor Flight of Wyoming vets to WW!! Memorial in Washington, DC. I just wanted to add what little I can in expressing my heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped organize and finance this extraordinarily inspirational trip. There was […]