HISTORY OF HONOR FLIGHT INC.
On 29, May 2004, President Bush dedicated the World War II Memorial to honor "The Greatest Generation". Regrettably today, very few of these elderly veterans have the funds, knowledge or strength to complete a conventional trip to Washington D.C. via commercial airline, car or bus.
Honor Flight Inc. is a non-profit organization created solely to honor America's veterans for all their sacrifices. We fly our heroes to Washington, D.C. to visit and reflect at their memorials. Top priority is given to the senior veterans – WW II survivors along with those other veterans that may be terminally ill. Honor Flight first flew in May 2005 with six small planes flying 12 WW II veterans and departing out of Springfield, Ohio. In 2006, with a waiting list of veterans expanding rapidly, we transitioned to commercial airline carriers to accommodate the maximum number of veterans as possible. Partnering with HonorAir in Hendersonville, North Carolina and Hero Flight in Provo, Utah, we formed the “Honor Flight Network.†Together, we are aggressively expanding our programs to other cities across the nation in 2008. Based on recent statistics, we are losing WW II veterans at the rate of 1200 per day. Honor Flight will continue do whatever it takes to fulfill the dreams of our veterans and, very importantly, our senior heroes travel absolutely free.
The Honor Flight program was conceived by Earl Morse, a Physician Assistant and retired Air Force Captain, to honor World War II veterans In addition to being a Physician Assistant, Earl is also a private pilot and member of one of our nation's largest and best aero clubs located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. In December of 2004, Earl asked one of his WWII Veteran patients if he could personally fly him out to DC, free of charge, to visit his memorial. Mr. Loy, the patient, broke down and cried. He said at his age he would probably never get to see his memorial on his own. He accepted the offer. A second WWII Veteran was asked the same question a week later. He, too, cried and enthusiastically accepted a trip to Washington D.C. Realizing that the desire was so great, Earl started to ask for help from other pilots to make these hopes and dreams a reality. In January of 2005, Earl addressed about 150 members of the aero club during a safety meeting, outlining a volunteer program to fly veterans to their memorial. There were two major stipulations to his request. The first was that the veterans pay nothing. The entire aircraft rental ($600 to $1200 for the day) would have to be paid solely by the pilots. The second was that the pilots would personally escort the veterans around DC the entire day. After Earl spoke, 11 pilots who had never met his patients volunteered to make their dream a reality. Honor Flight was born.
In the future, Honor Flight Inc. will also pay tribute to America's other heroes that served during Korean, Vietnam wars and then followed by veterans of more current wars. They, too, have given so much and it's time we show them that their efforts are not forgotten. Honor Flight has learned a lot over these last years and one of the points that stand out is that our heroes, the veterans, aren't asking for recognition. It is our position that they deserve it. And by us making a trip possible for those men and women to see their memorial at no cost, this is just a small token we can give back to those that gave so much.
By the end of 2006, across America, 891 WWII Veterans realized their dream of visiting their memorial. Two factors that we are extremely proud of are (1) all of our heroes had a safe and memorable trip and (2) we were able to raise sufficient funds so that every veteran flew absolutely free.
As of this date World War II veterans are flying from Cleveland, Akron Canton, Columbus, Dayton, Toledo and Cincinnati airports along with thirty-seven other states.
The first flight out of Cleveland Hopkins International airport was made possible entirely by the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Ohio Charities donations. The inaugural flight was held on May 23rd 2007. The Department Commander, Bill Seagraves and Department President, Jan Merrick (of Painesville, Ohio) along with twenty five World War II veterans, and Channel 3 News (WKYC) visited the World War II memorial setting a precedent for the Cleveland area World War II veterans. Every third Wednesday of the month thereafter, World War II veterans along with their guardians boarded a Southwest Airlines plane for their trip of a lifetime. Between May 2007 and October 2007, two hundred and thirty nine World War II veterans were swept off on an awesome adventure, while in 2008 five hundred and twenty five World War II veterans experienced their journey of a lifetime where stories were shared, tears were shed, new relationships were forged and lasting memories were made. Honor Flight Cleveland's 2009 year proved to be a very productive year as well with four hundred and ninety World War II men and women getting the opportunity to see their memorials as well as other Washington D.C. spots of interest.