2024 flight dates announced
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.