Honor flight takes 70 veterans to D.C.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Seventy WWII veterans were sent off to D.C. Wednesday morning on Honor Flight Northeast Indiana's 8th flight since its inaugural trip in May 2009. The veterans are able to make the trip, at no cost to themselves, in order to visit the WWII memorial in the nation's capital.

Veterans and volunteer guardians were served breakfast at the 122nd Fighter Wing by national guard volunteers at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday.* Those traveling to D.C. began boarding the charted plane at 7:00 a.m. and it took off around 8:30 a.m. The group is expected to return at 9:30 p.m.

Since the inaugural flight, 420 local WWII Veterans have been able to visit the WWII memorial in DC, at no cost thanks to volunteers and financial donations from the community.

After Wednesday's flight, there will still be 80 veterans on the waiting list for northeast Indiana; new applications arrive every week.

All trips are funded by donations from individuals and private organizations in Northeast Indiana. Honor Flight representatives say 96 percent of all donations go directly towards the veterans' trips. (Honor Flight NE Indiana, Inc. is a volunteer, nonprofit, 501(c)3 organization. Donations are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.)

*Honor Flight Northeast Indiana Inc. is not endorsed or funded by the Indiana Air National Guard.