The second Honor Flight of 2022 took off from CVG early in the morning on May 24. Veterans and guardians were treated to a chartered American Airlines flight. The Honor Flight attendees returned to the CVG terminal at 9 p.m., where they were greeted by an admiring public.
Locally, Honor Flight Tri-State has flown over 6,000 veterans and their families over the age of 65 to Washington D.C.
Honor Flight Tri-State is a nonprofit that allows veterans and their guardians to fly to Washington D.C. for a day so they can see iconic monuments and participate in ceremonies that honor their service to their country. For veterans who may not have the physical means or financial resources to visit the memorials of their respective war, Honor Flight Tri-State fills the gap.
It also gives veterans a chance to honor their friends who never returned home from past conflicts.
“A lot of thoughts were going through my mind, particularly when I got to the Vietnam War Memorial to visit there because I had been hesitant to do that,” local Vietnam War Army veteran Bob Abrams said about his first Honor Flight. “After I did visit it, it was therapeutic for me. I felt very good and I could remember those guys who were with me.”
The general tour for Honor Flight attendees consists of visits to the Korean War Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, Iwo Jima, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the U.S. Air Force Memorial and other Washington DC sights.
All the veterans boarding Honor Flight Tri-State traveling are from Greater Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeastern Indiana. The Honor Flight trip is free of cost for veterans over the age of 65.
There are two more upcoming flights for Honor Flight Tri-State in the fall, scheduled for Sept. 20 and Oct. 25.
The Honor Flight Network was founded in 2005 by Earl Morse and Jeff Miller. The national Honor Flight Network hosts veterans flights and tours in other states such as California, Arizona, Texas and New York. In total, over 225,000 veterans have taken an Honor Flight to Washington DC. On average, the network serves over 22,000 veterans annually.
