Thanks to You, Veterans Will Visit The Nation’s Capital with Eastern Iowa Honor Flight

I grew up right outside Washington DC, the Capital of the country, and it's also chock full of monuments to many things.  Monuments for the amazing people who have come before us and made this country great.  If there's one thing that DC does well it's making picturesque monuments and if you ever get a chance to check them out, go. You can see some sights and walk on the same ground as our forefathers.  I've seen the monuments hundreds of times in the years I drove around the DC area and it never got old.  Before 9-11, the monuments, for the most part, didn't close.  If you wanted to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, or old Abe at the Lincoln Memorial at 2 am, you could and we did many times.  He's not a very talkative fellow.  If you're looking for a blabber mouth, head over to the Jefferson Memorial.  The guy won't be quiet about his dry cleaning business and how he's moving on up to the east side.  Wait, I might be mixing up Thomas Jefferson & George Jefferson. Did Thomas Jefferson have a housekeeper named Florence and a neighbor named Bentley?

52nd Trip to our nation's capital for Eastern Iowa Honor Flight

Making that trip soon is a group of veterans from Iowa.  The Eastern Iowa Honor Flight is gearing up for its 52nd adventure to Washington, D.C. Tuesday, September 17, 2024, and it's sure to be a day brimming with excitement and deep gratitude for our nation's veterans!

This special flight will carry a new group of heroes—ranging from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Gulf War veterans, to noncombat veterans—on a whirlwind tour of memorials in our nation’s capital. Since 2009, the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight has whisked nearly 5,000 veterans away on 51 previous flights,.

Who, what, when, where?

Veterans will start their day early at 5:45 a.m. at The Eastern Iowa Airport, with plans to return in the evening. You are invited to join in the fun and welcome them back with a festive celebration at the airport starting at 7:30 p.m., just before their 9 p.m. arrival.

The homecoming will be quite awesome, oh yes, featuring a military band, a flag line, and support from local police and fire departments. And if you're driving to the airport, both long-term and short-term parking are free for attendees.  If you need a parking pass they are available at the terminal’s info booth. Hope to see you there.

The Eastern Iowa Honor Flight is powered entirely by volunteers and donations, with no government funding. If you are interested in supporting this fantastic mission and helping veterans from Benton, Iowa, Jasper, Jones, Johnson, Linn, Marshall, southern Tama, Poweshiek, and Washington counties, check out eihonorflight.org. Donations are easy to make online via PayPal or by mail with a donation form. Let’s show our heroes how much we appreciate them!