The COVID-19 pandemic has grounded Honor Flights for more than a year, but veterans will soon be able to fly to Washington, D.C. to see and experience the memorials dedicated to the wars they served in.
Honor Flight Networks spokesperson Carol Harlow tells Connecting Vets the flights are set to resume Aug. 16.
“The Honor Flight Network is closely monitoring and following recommended guidelines set forth by the CDC and the government of the District of Columbia,” she said.
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Currently, all Honor Flight participants must be either fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide proof of a negative PCR test within 72 hours of flight departure.
Trip participants must also complete a self-wellness check on the day of departure verifying the individual is not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and all participants must follow government-mandated mask policies.
When they arrive in Washington, Harlow said trip participants can expect to experience a day of honor and respect for the veterans.
“From the moment they sign in at the airport everyone is pulled into a patriotic atmosphere of gratitude and well wishes,” she said.” Their trip to Washington, D.C. includes stops at the memorials and monuments dedicated to the veterans’ service and sacrifice.”
Veterans also receive a “mail call” on the trip home that includes personal, hand-written notes from family and community members recognizing their service.
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World War II, Korea, and Vietnam veterans receive the first opportunities to participate during a trip. Honor Flight also serves terminally ill veterans of all service eras who have only one year left to live.
“We also recognize that current era veterans often benefit from the positive feelings they receive from giving back to the generation of servicemen and servicewomen who went before them when they participate as a guardian and/or a volunteer,” said Harlow.
Approximately 25,000 veterans annually take an Honor Flight. Participation gives veterans the chance to share this momentous trip with other veterans, to remember friends and comrades lost, and to share their stories and experiences with each other, Harlow said.
“We often hear back that his or her Honor Flight is the “trip of a lifetime,” she added.
Local Honor Flight Hubs have honored and engaged veterans during the pandemic Harlow continued.
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“Across the Network, everyone has recognized the importance of keeping veterans' spirits uplifted and helping them to feel remembered and appreciated while everyone was staying safe at home and socially distancing,” she said.
Honor Flight’s national office posted short videos of support and encouragement from celebrities leading up to Veterans Day and also created new ways for veterans to gather virtually during the pandemic.
“Many of our Honor Flight Hubs across the country placed signs recognizing a veterans’ service to our country in his or her yard and others held festive car parades within the community,” she said.
Harlow said Honor Flight is excited to thank the nation’s veterans in person and to return to its mission of safely providing them an opportunity to experience a trip.
“On a personal level, I feel there is no greater way to say thank you to these veterans than for them to experience an Honor Flight,” she said. “Sadly, too many veterans lost that opportunity during COVID. From as best as we can tell, more than 750 veterans who were signed up to take an Honor Flight, died during the one year COVID shutdown.”
To learn more about Honor Flights, visit here.
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Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.
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