Northwest Arkansas now covered under Honor Flight of the Ozarks’ reach

Nancy Willaims Honor Flight Coordinator gets the Arkansas World War 2 veterans to calls the Hogs after getting their picture taken bv the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.( NWA Democrat-Gazette/FILE PHOTO)
Nancy Willaims Honor Flight Coordinator gets the Arkansas World War 2 veterans to calls the Hogs after getting their picture taken bv the WWII Memorial in Washington DC.( NWA Democrat-Gazette/FILE PHOTO)

Honor Flight of the Ozarks has extended its reach into Arkansas to give more veterans a chance to see the memorials built in their honor in the nation's capital.

Thirteen Arkansas counties -- Benton, Washington, Carroll, Madison, Newton, Boone, Marion, Searcy, Baxter, Stone, Fulton, Izard and Sharp -- were added to the Ozarks hub as were Oregon and Shannon counties in Missouri, according to a March news release from Honor Flight of the Ozarks.

Honor Flight Network, a national organization, expanded the territory of Honor Flight of the Ozarks, according to the release. The hub previously had covered all of southwest Missouri, said Gary Ellison, a volunteer for Honor Flights of the Ozarks.

"We believe there are a whole lot of veterans from Northwest Arkansas who have not gone on an Honor Flight," Ellison said.

Jeff Miller and Earl Morse created the Honor Flight Network in 2005 with the simple mission of honoring the nation's veterans by bringing them to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials built to commemorate their service and sacrifice.

While initially focused on America's World War II veterans, Honor Flight Network has expanded its mission to include those who served during the Korean and Vietnam wars and veterans of any service era who are critically ill, according to the website honorflight.org.

According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs statistics, 167,284 of the 16 million Americans who served in World War II were alive in 2022.

Each Honor Flight takes a veteran and guardian on a daylong trip to Washington, D.C., to see the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Marine Corps Memorial and the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery, according to the release.

The Honor Flight Network is a national nonprofit organization composed of independent hubs that work together to achieve the Honor Flight mission, according to honorflight.org. The 124 hubs serve 44 states and have transported more than 260,000 veterans since the program started, according to the website.

"It's a wonderful program that gives our veterans the chance to experience our nation's monuments that were erected in their honor," said Patrick Robinson, Benton County Veteran Services director. "Some of the veterans may have never experienced these monuments and would never have the opportunity without the Honor Flight program.

"It also offers the camaraderie to travel and experience these monuments with fellow veterans that can relate to their military experiences. I've spoken with several veterans that have taken an Honor Flight. It's easy to tell that the experience is a very positive and emotional experience for the veterans."

Ben Dykes, veteran services director for Washington County, said there are about 23,000 veterans in Benton County and 20,000 veterans in Washington County -- the second and third largest numbers in the state. Pulaski County has about 30,000 veterans, he said.

Honor Flight of the Ozarks has taken more than 1,700 veterans to the nation's capital, Ellison said. It costs Honor Flight of the Ozarks $82,000 to rent a plane for each trip. Four charter buses are needed when in Washington, D.C. Eighty-one veterans go in each trip, he said. The group gets no government funding and uses fundraisers and donations to pay for the trips, he said.

It's a long day as each group meets at the Springfield-Branson National Airport around 5:30 a.m. and returns to the airport around 10 p.m., Ellison said.

Honor Flight of the Ozarks, which began operating in 2014, took three flights to Washington, D.C., last year after being grounded because of covid-19 in 2020 and 2021, Ellison said.

The first flight for Honor Flight of the Ozarks set for May 17 is full, Ellison said. Other trips scheduled in August and September are mostly filled out, he said. There are vacancies for next year, and eligible veterans are urged to fill out an application, he said.

Applications can be found online at www.HonorFlightoftheOzarks.org, according to the release.


Upcoming Events