The 32nd Never Forgotten Honor Flight will take off on Monday from the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee with 101 Veterans on board.
“It ranks right up there,” said Co-Founder and VP of Marketing Jim Campbell. “The very first one we had 103 World War II Veterans, and over the 31 flights, the average is 94. So yeah it’s a little bit higher than average. But as we get more and more of the Vietnam-era generation we can increase the ratio of Veterans per guardian.” Campbell says of the 101 Veterans there will be one WWII Vet and 100 Vietnam-era Vets.
A special guest will also be on this month’s flight in former Green Bay Packers Defensive Lineman Gilbert Brown. He says this will be the third flight to feature a Packers player; which is an added bonus for the Veterans. “They truly enjoy it. These Veterans are over 60 years old so they remember Gilbert and the run-stuffer that he was for the Packers.” Monday’s flight will also become a documentary with Brown interviewing the Veterans as they tour the memorials in Washington, D.C. Previous May fights have featured John Kuhn and the Jerry Kramer. Campbell says in both cases they said the trip had a profound impact on them. “[Kramer] really enjoyed, as John Kuhn did, interviewing the Veterans. And of course, the Veterans are all Green Bay Packer fans too.”
Monday’s flight will take off early Monday morning from CWA and is set to return at around 10 that same evening. Two more Honor Flights are scheduled for 2018. Campbell says those will take off in September and October, adding that those months (along with April and May) offer the best weather conditions for the Vets. The current Honor Flight wait list is around 4 years for Vietnam-era Vets. For WWII and Korean Vets, Campbell says depending on the circumstances they could be on the next flight or go early next year. He adds that a common misconception about Honor Flight is you have to have served in a combat role to participate; however, only about 8% of the 2,935 veterans served by the previous flights saw combat. “The only qualification is that you served in the years that are listed on the website and application. That’s the only criteria whatsoever.”
More information on the flights and an application for those that want to join the wait list can be found here.
