Honor Flight Bluegrass’ next and final honor flight of the year is set for Sept. 5. It's an opportunity for military veterans to see the monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C., honoring their service and those they fought beside.
There will be only one flight this fall. The deadline to apply is July 1. There’s no waiting list for World War II and Korean War veterans. There is a waiting list for Vietnam War veterans.
If you aren't sure whether you or your loved one can handle the trip due to age or health, Jeff Thoke with Honor Flight Bluegrass says not to worry.
“We can take care of you. We have the medical team on board. We can take care of you from the start of the day to the end of the day,” he says. “The one thing I want to emphasize to people from western Kentucky is we will also pay for your hotel room the night before and the night after.”
The trip is free for veterans. It’s about a $1,000 total value for each veteran.
Thoke says 150,000 WWII veterans are still living out of the 16 million who served, and the organization is strongly encouraging those veterans to sign up – their loved ones can sign them up as well.
Taking an honor flight can be an emotional experience for veterans.
“The thing that we hear from all the veterans all the time is the ones who should be honored are the ones who never came home,” Thoke says. “And it's emotional for all three eras because they know buddies who were left behind and they feel a little guilty about going on our honor flight. And we tell them all the time: you have earned the right to go.”
Not only is it their right, but it can be a way to honor those who gave their lives.
“By going, you're honoring those who did not come home, and you're representing that whole group,” Thoke says. “But, you know, it's a sense of closure for some veterans who have, maybe they felt guilty that they came home and others didn't.”
This 2019 photo was taken during an Honor Flight Bluegrass trip to Washington, D.C.
He says veterans always tell them the flight is one of the best days of their lives, behind having children and getting married.
There’s an emphasis this year on finding Korean War veterans.
“We know there's a lot out there in rural Kentucky and they're 80 – they can be as young as 86, 87, 88,” Thoke says. “And we know they're out there.”
“This is your chance to go,” Thoke says. “And we are really encouraging anyone who knows of one, to contact us.”
You don't have to be a west Kentucky veteran. Veterans from our four-state region who want to go are welcome to sign up. That includes Illinois, Missouri and Tennessee.
Contact Jeff Thoke by calling 502-645-5421 or Kelli Oakley by calling 859-433-6495.
You can also email us at newstip@wpsdlocal6.com, and we'll forward your message to Honor Flight Bluegrass.
