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Spearheading Honor Flight
A
local organization wants to send South GeorgiaТs World War II
veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial.
And it wonТt cost the World War II veterans a cent.
ItТs called Honor Flight South Georgia.
HereТs how it works: Pre-registered World War II veterans will gather
in early morning hours at the Valdosta Regional Airport. For every
three to four veterans, a volunteer Guardian will assist them; paramedics
and wheelchairs will be available for the journey. The veterans will fly
to Washington, D.C., where they will be taken from the Ronald Reagan Washington
National Airport to the World War II Memorial. They spend a couple
of hours there then at the Tomb of Unknown Soldier. They return to the
airport and are back in Valdosta that same day.
Alton Buddy Johnson, left, and Bert Powell, members of the South Georgia chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, are spearheading Honor Flight South Georgia.
To make such a trip possible, however, it will take a lot of coordination,
fund-raising, volunteers and action. ThatТs what members of the South
Georgia chapter of the Military Officers Association of America will
be doing during the next several weeks.
These MOAA members hope to raise an initial amount of approximately
$123,000 in the next several weeks to send the first of two to three
planes of regional World War II veterans to D.C. by late May.
УGiven what these guys did for our country when we needed them, it
seems a small price,Ф says Bert Powell, a local MOAA member, chairman
of Honor Flight South Georgia, and a World War II veteran.
Powell and MOAA President Alton "Buddy" Johnson are spearheading
the local efforts to locate the regionТs World War II veterans, coordinate
the charter plane to take the veterans from Valdosta to Washington,
D.C., get the community involved in raising funds, and coordinate
volunteers to help the veterans on the trips.
Powell and Johnson developed the Honor Flight concept after learning
of similar projects across the nation. In explaining how Honor Flight
works, they share national television coverage of other communitiesТ successful
efforts to send their World War II veterans on a free to trip to
the memorial. These other successful efforts have joined together
to help similar flights across the nation.
A few weeks ago, Powell and Johnson traveled to Washington, D.C.,
to meet with the organizers who originated the concept. While there,
Powell was named to the national board making him the only World
War II veteran on the national Honor FlightТs board of directors.
The national organization will help charter the special plane to fly the
South Georgia veterans to D.C.
Powell and Johnson have also enlisted the aid of the local American
Legion Post 13 to handle the money raised, while they speak to local
clubs and organizations seeking funds and volunteers.
Raising more than $100,000 in a matter of weeks sounds formidable
until you start breaking down the numbers. It will cost approximately
$300 per World War II veteran. A church, for example, could sponsor one
of its members who is a World War II veteran. Given that such a flight
would cost hundreds more for an individual, families may want to ensure
that their World War II grandfather can make the Honor Flight trip.
Boy Scout troops, civic organizations, churches, the Boys & Girls Club
can host fund-raisers to help these veterans visit the memorial built
in their honor. Classrooms can integrate lessons about what these
veterans accomplished while raising money to help them see the World War
II Memorial.
All money raised goes to pay for World War II veterans, Powell and
Johnson say. Even the needed Guardian volunteers must pay their own
way.
Considering the amount of money required, one may wonder why the
hurry? Why not extend a fund-raising period so the trips are in the
fall rather than late May?
ThatТs what Powell and Johnson had planned until they met with the
national Honor Flight board.
They said, Oh, no, you can't wait that long, Johnson
recalls, УСyouТll lose too many.ТФ
Considering most World War II veterans are in their late 70s to 100
years old and thousands die nationwide daily, time is of the essence.
Time is of the essence if we are to pay tribute to those men in our
community who once answered the nationТs call, who once dared much
to save the world.
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