Honor Flight Northern Colorado Takes 131 World War II Veterans to See Their Memorial

On April 28, 2009, 131 World War II Veterans and 50 Guardian volunteers departed the Budweiser Events Center for their Honor Flight to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington DC. Honor Flight Northern Colorado raised the funding and conducted the two day trip to honor and say “thank you” to these members of the “greatest generation”.

The Veterans were treated to a rousing send off at the McKee (4-H) Building attended by over 300 family, friends, volunteers and well wishers. Music was provided by the Highland (Ault) High School Band and 40’s signing group, Nostalgia, along with bugle calls and Scottish bagpipes. The Larimer County Sheriff Color Guard presented the Colors. The Veterans and Guardians were piped aboard the buses for departure as Air National Guard F16’s zoomed overhead.

The Patriot Guard provided a motorcycle escort for the bus trip to DIA while the Larimer County Sheriff Office and other law enforcement agencies led the way. Emergency service officers and the public cheered from overpasses and intersections along the way. The celebration continued at the Signature Terminal at DIA where over 100 uniformed service men and women and over 200 well wishers greeted the Veterans and assisted with boarding the charter flight.

The veterans were again greeted with cheers form the airport staff and travelers when they arrived at Baltimore/Washington International Airport. Lieutenant General Jim Campbell (USA Ret.) was the guest speaker at the evening’s banquet after which many Veterans took a night bus tour on the Monuments. The next day the group spent several hours at the World War II Memorial and visited the Iwo Jima, Navy, Air Force, Service Women’s, Pentagon 9/11, Korea and Vietnam Memorials.

Departing early that evening they arrived back at the DIA Signature Terminal to a welcome organized by the Northern Colorado Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association. After a long two day trip full of memories they returned to family and friends at the Budweiser Events Center.

Honor Flight Northern Colorado is an affiliate of the National Honor Flight Network. Last September Honor Flight Northern Colorado too 211 WWII Veterans and 85 Guardians to Washington and another trip is scheduled for this September. Last year, nationally, Honor Flight took over 11,000 Veterans to see their memorial and this year our goal is 20,000. According to Stan Cass, President of Honor Flight Northern Colorado, “We will continue to make these trips as long as the WWII Veterans want to go and we can raise money. It is the least we can do to say thank you to those whose efforts saved the world.”

Honor Flight Northern Colorado is an all volunteer effort, funded solely by donations. It cost approximately $1,000 per Veteran to make the trip. Guardians make a donation to defray the cost of their trip. Funds for the past trips have been raised from a large number of generous individual donors and benefit events, including concerts by Nostalgia and the University of Northern Colorado Combined Bands. Recently, the students, their families, staff and faculty of Poudre R1 School District raised enough money to send eight Veterans on the trip. The next benefit event is; An Evening with Baxter Black, on May 30, 2009.

To find out more information ot to make a donation visit: www.honorflightnortherncolorado.org or call Stan Cass at (970) 454-5660 or Lee Seward at (970) 834-0216.