Honor flights scheduled

Again this year, the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight is offering four flights leaving from the Cedar Rapids Airport to allow veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam to visit Washington, D.C., for a day.

This year the honor flights are scheduled for April 18; May 18; Sept. 20; and Oct. 18. The flights will leave at about 6:30 a.m. and return at about 10:15 p.m. Eastern Iowa Honor Flight media coordinator George Rickey said Washington County is in the service area and has received several grants from the Washington County Riverboat Foundation.

?We have been averaging about four per year for the last three years,? Rickey said. ?Our priorities are any veteran who is terminally ill or has a medical condition where time becomes of the essence. That is regardless of where he served. Then World War II veterans, followed by Korean. We are now transporting and accepting Vietnam era veterans.?

He explained about two weeks before the flight, the people going are given orientation. On the day of the flight, they are checked in at the airport. The flight is less than two hours long. Tour buses are waiting for the veterans. The first stop is the World War II memorial. The national colors are presented. The group does a bus tour of the city and has lunch on the bus. The group then moves to the Korean and Vietnam era memorials. The tour moves to Arlington National Cemetery, where the veterans will watch the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Sometimes the veterans are allowed to lay a wreath on the tomb. The tour stops at the Women?s Memorial. They also stop at the Iwo Jima Memorial. The spring flights will also go to the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. The last stop is the Air Force Memorial.

Community members are invited to come out to the airport when the veterans are returning after the trip to join in welcoming home the veterans.

Veterans wishing to be part of the flight can go to the website eihonorflight.org where an application can be downloaded. Applicants are taken in the order they are received. In Washington County, veterans can contact Veterans Affairs officer Sue Rich.

?We?re very appreciative of the service of the veterans,? Rickey said. ?It?s a wonderful experience. One of the big misconceptions we run into are veterans who think that because they didn?t serve in combat or serve overseas they do not qualify. That is absolutely incorrect. If you wore the uniform, you are qualified for the flight.?