Jerry Lujan
Honor Flight is a nationwide program that flies military veterans to see their memorials in Washington, D.C. Honor Flight recognizes these veterans for their sacrifices and achievements. Top priority has been given to World War II and terminally ill Veterans from all years but Honor Flight has expanded to include Korean War and Vietnam Veterans as well. The three day trip from Tucson is absolutely free.
Honor Flight was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician’s assistant and retired Air Force Captain who treated World War II Veterans in Ohio. After finding out that some of his patients would like to see Washington, D.C. Earl recruited some of his fellow airplane owners to help him fly some Ohio veterans to Washington, D.C. at no cost to them and escort them as they visited the recently completed WW II War Memorial. That was the beginning of the program which is open to all veterans regardless of what they did or where they served. (More of this interesting story can be found at: www.honorflight.org.)
Since the first flight in 2005, more than 125 hubs for Honor Flight have been established in more than 40 states sending more than 100,000 veterans on the all expense paid trip. Tucson was established as a hub for southern Arizona in May of 2011 and since then has made 17 trips flying 542 World War II Veterans. Applications for Korean Veterans are now being accepted. To file an online application, please go to www.honorflightsaz.org. For more information, please go to www.honorflightsaz.org or call me at 828 6264.