September 8, 2015
The seventh Kansas Honor Flight of the year will depart from Wichita Eisenhower National Airport at 7:05 a.m. on Wednesday, carrying 22 WWII and four Korean War veterans to Washington, DC. The veterans and their guardians are flying on Southwest Airlines, a major contributor to the Kansas Honor Flight Organization.
The veterans will enjoy a two-night stay in the nation’s capital, where the group will visit the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veteran’s Memorial, Ft. McHenry, and the Vietnam Memorial Wall. In addition, they will visit the Lincoln Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and other landmarks.
The public is invited to participate in the patriotic “Welcome Home” celebration on Friday, Sept. 11. There will be a contingent of World War II reenactors taking part in honoring these veterans and will show what these WW II veterans looked like in combat gear. Area schools also plan to attend. The veterans will return on Southwest Airlines flight 36 scheduled to arrive at 5:45 p.m. Free parking and shuttle service is available at the Best Western Airport Inn, 6815 W. Kellogg. Shuttle service starts at 4:30 pm. More information is available at www.kansashonorflight.org.
The trip has been organized by Kansas Honor Flight, Inc. The mission of Honor Flight is to transport America’s veterans to Washington, DC to visit the memorials at no cost to them, with current priority to WWII Veterans, then Korean War Veterans and Vietnam War Veterans. Guardians, who pay their own travel expenses, accompany each veteran to ensure safe travel. Contributions from the public provide funding for the trip. Please visit www.kansashonorflight.org to find more information regarding this all-expense paid trip.
The trips are made possible through the cooperation and coordination of Southwest Airlines, TSA, ABM Parking, MSE Branded Foods which donated Dunkin’ Donuts, and Wichita Airport Authority staff.
