The third
Kansas Honor Flight of the year will depart from Wichita Eisenhower National
Airport at 10:15 a.m. on Wednesday, carrying four World War II veterans and 21
Korean War veterans to Washington, DC. The veterans and their guardians
are flying on Southwest Airlines, a major sponsor of 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, and
the Vietnam Memorial Wall. In addition, they will visit the Lincoln
Memorial, the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Arlington National Cemetery, the
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Iwo Jima Memorial, and have a driving tour by
other landmarks. This will be the first trip this year that will finish the
tour with a flag ceremony at Ft. McHenry where Francis Scott Key wrote the Star
Spangled Banner during the War of 1812.
The public
is invited to participate in the festive welcome home celebration on Friday.
The veterans will return on Southwest Airlines flight 576 scheduled to arrive
at 11:10 a.m. Free parking and shuttle service is available at the Best
Western Airport Inn, 6815 W. Kellogg. Shuttle service starts at 10 a.m.
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 help fund the
trips. 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, HMS Host, and Wichita Airport Authority staff.
