Honor Flight Long Island Taking 47 Veterans to Visit Washington, D.C. Military Memorials

Written by Chris Boyle | 10. April 2023

Honor Flight Long Island (HFLI), the iconic volunteer-run Veterans’ organization, is proud to announce resumption of regularly scheduled bi-annual flights to Washington, D.C., after two years of pandemic related restrictions. HFLI’s scheduled flight on Saturday, April 29, 2023, will take 47 United States Veterans to visit their military memorials, meet with service branch representatives, commiserate with fellow Veterans and exchange stories. Honor Flight’s mission is to honor fellow Long Islanders who served in the United States Armed Forces to preserve our freedoms, by providing free, one-day trips so Veterans can visit D.C.

According to Bill Jones, HFLI President, West Point 1972 Graduate and U.S. Army Veteran, “This special flight includes 38 Vietnam War Veterans who will receive long overdue recognition and thanks for their service,” Jones said. “They’ll be accompanied on this flight by two World War II Veterans and seven Korean War Veterans. What this flight really represents is a ‘Big Hug’ to all our Veterans from Honor Flight, their families and supporters, who make such flights possible,” Jones added. (Editors: See attached Excel file on Veteran backgrounds and contact Bill Jones for additional quotations at (631) 276-8825 or ddbeach5@gmail.com.)

Thanks to HFLI, these 47 Veterans will take a free, early-morning Southwest flight to Washington, D.C. Departing from Islip MacArthur Airport at 6:05 a.m., Veterans and their Guardians will visit World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials, Arlington National Cemetery for a Changing of the Guard, the Air Force Memorial and Iwo Jima Memorial. They return to Islip later that evening at 10:25 p.m. for a rousing welcome by the Nassau County Fire Fighters Pipe and Drum Band, plus thunderous applause from hundreds of family and supporters!

HFLI is accepting applications from Veterans of World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. Long Island Veterans are encouraged to sign up by going to the website, www.honorflightlongisland.org. It’s important to submit an application, as that will insure placement on our list. Veterans fly for free, thanks to donations from across Long Island. They are accompanied by Guardians, able-bodied volunteers who donate $400 (tax deductible) to offset their travel costs. If there is no family member to act as a Guardian, Honor Flight has volunteers ready to step up for the privilege of escorting our heroes to their memorials. Questions can be answered by calling Jamie Bowden at (631) 702-2423 or by emailing Jamie at JBowden@southamptontownny.gov.

About Honor Flight Network

The Honor Flight Network was formed in 2005 with a mission of honoring our nation’s World War II Veterans by flying them to visit the Washington, D.C. WWII Memorial dedicated in 2004. The Honor Flight Network is currently comprised of over 130 hubs throughout the country dedicated to carrying out the Honor Flight mission. In addition to WWII Veterans, the organization now transports those who served in the Korean War, Vietnam War, later conflicts and in special cases of terminal illness or injury, Veterans from more recent service eras. Since 2005, the Honor Flight Network has taken more than 250,000 Veterans to Washington, D.C. For more information, visit honorflight.org.

Credit: Honor Flight Long Island