32nd Freedom Honor Flight takes off Saturday, May 3

Organizers are preparing for Freedom Honor Flight’s 32nd trip to honor veterans by flying them to Washington D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor. Since the organization was founded in 2008, Freedom Honor Flight has flown more than 2,800 veterans to our nation’s capital. The single-day itinerary includes a welcome in Washington, D.C., and visits typically include the WWII Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and other sites via luxury motorcoaches.

Eager flyers include one World War II veteran, two Korean War Era veterans and 99 veterans from the Vietnam War Era. They fly for free, joined by volunteer guardians who pay their own way to assist the veterans on this “trip of a lifetime.”

The public is welcome at the morning sendoff and evening welcome-home ceremonies. All ground activities are held at Colgan Air, Hangar 4, La Crosse Airport. Ample parking and shuttle service available.

For the morning sendoff, hangar doors open at 5:30 a.m. A brief ceremony at approximately 6:15 a.m. precedes the American Airlines charter flight, set to depart at 6:50 a.m. The popular welcome-home ceremony features the Sparta High School marching band. Hangar doors open at 7:30 p.m. The flight is expected to return between 9 and 10 p.m.

Freedom Honor Flight relies solely on the public’s generosity and urgently needs help to continue operating these flights. “There are still more than 450 veterans on a waiting list, just to fly out of our hub in La Crosse. If we want to get them all to D.C., we’ll need the community’s continued support. Please consider making a donation to provide a memorable and meaningful trip for more veterans, just like the 102 flying on May 3,” said Freedom Honor Flight Board President Kevin Kuchar.

32nd Freedom Honor Flight takes off Saturday, May 3

Freedom Honor Flight will make two trips to Washington D.C. in 2024, flying veterans to see the memorials built in their honor. The spring flight is set to take off on Saturday, May 4 and the fall flight on Saturday, September 21.

Since the organization was founded in 2008, Freedom Honor Flight has flown more than 2,600 veterans to our nation’s capital. The organization is currently flying veterans of WWII, Korea and Vietnam with the majority of those veterans coming from the Vietnam era. The single-day itinerary includes a welcome in Washington, D.C., and visits typically include the WWII Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and other sites via luxury motorcoaches.

More than 660 veterans are on a waitlist to fly from La Crosse. While the organization is financially solid, each flight costs around $130,000. “While we have extremely generous donors, with rising costs and inflation, we’ll need continued support from the community in order to continue operating these flights. You can check out our website, freedomhonorflight.org to find out how you can support the organization,” said Freedom Honor Flight Board President Kevin Kuchar.

“If you or someone you know hasn’t signed up for a future flight, we encourage you to go to our website, navigate to the applications page where you’ll find veteran and guardian forms, and do so. You can also find an online application that you can fill out and submit right on the site and instantly be put on the waitlist.”

Freedom Honor Flight serves the Tri-state area. In Wisconsin, that includes the following counties: Crawford, Vernon, La Crosse, Monroe, Juneau, Adams, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson, Pierce, Pepin, St. Croix, Dunn, Chippewa and Eau Claire. In Minnesota: Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Houston, Mower, Olmstead, Wabasha and Winona counties. In Iowa: Allamakee, Chickasaw, Floyd, Howard, Mitchell and Winneshiek.

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Freedom Honor Flight is the first Wisconsin affiliate of the national network of Honor Flight organizations. The hub, based in La Crosse, serves 30 counties in western Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota and northern Iowa. The group’s mission is to organize and fly groups of veterans to Washington D.C. to visit the war memorials that stand in their honor. The group receives no government funding and depends on donations, which are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law. Learn more at www.freedomhonorflight.org.