Honor Flight Central Florida is pleased to announce we have scheduled our first two flights for the Spring of 2018. We plan to take 25 Veterans along with 25 Honor Flight Guardian donors on each mission to our Nation’s capital so that our hometown heroes can view and reflect at the Memorials built to honor them. We are proud to provide Honor Flights at absolutely no charge to our Honored Veterans with thanks to the generosity of those who support this great mission.

We give priority to the Veterans that apply in the following order: Seriously ill Veterans of any era will be served first, then our WWII and Korea era Veterans next, and finally, the Veterans who served this nation during the Vietnam era, all on a first-come, first-served basis using the guidelines stated. While we have  waiting list, we are accepting applications for both Veteran Honorees and Guardian level donors.

As a Guardian, you will have the privilege of accompanying one of our hometown heroes on their own Honor Flight and be there to support them on an emotional day where they will experience recognition and thanks for their sacrifice and service to our Nation. Those who hold our Veterans in esteem and join us as Guardians, will have a profoundly rewarding personal experience that will stay with you for a lifetime. Kindly consider joining us as a Guardian on a future flight and dedicate yourself to those who answered the calling to wear the uniform of our armed forces and protect us and America.

If you know a Senior Veteran that would like to join us on a flight, we will do our very best to see that they are treated like the heroes we believe they are. We typically visit the WWII, Korea and Vietnam War Memorials, several of the military branch Memorials and Arlington National Cemetery on our flight missions. We fly up and back on the same day, and always schedule our flight missions for Saturdays in the Spring and Fall seasons.

Applications for both Guardians and Veterans to travel with us can be found here on our website. We ask that our Guardians donate to Honor Flight Central Florida to cover their own cost of flight mission expenses and will provide an acknowledgement of your donation for tax purposes. If you know a Senior Veteran that has never seen their Memorial, we would be grateful if you shared your knowledge of what we do.

We are so very proud to serve all of those who served us by providing these flights. We believe as Will Rogers did – “We can’t all be heroes, because someone has to stand on the curb and clap as they go by”. Join us in our mission to recognize and applaud the heroic and valiant among us. Tell a Senior Veteran about us, or seize the opportunity to play a key role in our mission by pushing their wheelchair and showing your own appreciation for what they have done for all of us.

Honor Flight Central Florida is a 501C-3 all volunteer organization. The money we raise goes directly to our mission and we never ask our Honorees for a single thing, other then to enjoy the adulation and honor we aim to provide. You can also learn more by calling us at 407.203.7010.

On October 21st, we are proud to be conducting another 2017 flight mission to Washington DC to provide 24 Central Florida Veterans with their own Honor Flight. Providing them a day of Honor to view and reflect at their memorials allows them to see our Nation’s appreciation for their service and sacrifices. Many have never seen their memorials or been formally recognized for what they have done for all of us while wearing the uniforms of our Military. Each wrote a blank check to the people of the United States for an amount up to and including their lives. Our Honorees include 7 Veterans of WWII, 8 who served during the Korean War and 9 who served during the Cold War and Vietnam era. They served our Nation in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard and Merchant Marine. Our youngest Honoree is 68 and our most Senior is 101 years old. A number of them served in multiple conflicts and more than one branch of our military. Two of our Honorees are women, both of whom served during WWII.

President Harry Truman said it best at the close of WWII when he stated “Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices”. Those words are enshrined in a panel on the WWII Memorial and we at Honor Flight Central Florida couldn’t agree more.

We hope that you also agree, and that amid your own busy schedules you’ll take time to play a role in their Honor Flight by joining in a welcome home to celebrate and appreciate their service next Saturday October 21st. Our tour will take us the WWII, Korea and Vietnam Memorials and to Arlington National Cemetery to witness the changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We will be arriving home from their Honor Flight to Orlando International Airport at 9:55 PM on Saturday evening and want them to see an airport full of grateful folks who will make time to put them first as they did for all of us.  Our arriving flight in to Orlando International is Southwest #3639 and we expect to be entering terminal A around 10:15. Join all the others who regularly attend these welcome home events by bringing family and friends, flags and signs of appreciation, to show your gratitude. While we don’t know them all, we owe them all, because we can’t all be heroes – some of us have to stand up and clap as they go by. Check with Southwest Airlines Saturday evening to confirm our on-time arrival, and be there to show we will never forget their sacrifices. Share this post with your own friends and family to provide a greeting home that is well deserved and will be a cherished memory for each of our Heroes.