For the 58th time since its inception, Honor Flight of the Quad Cities will take off with a plane full of veterans for Washington, D.C., to see the war memorials built in their honor.
The 58th Honor Flight, which will be Tuesday, Sept. 18, is sponsored by the Quad Cities, Clinton, and North Scott Hy-Vee stores. Debbie Geisler, an Honor Flight board member and Hy-Vee employee, will be the flight commander.
In a news release, the Honor Flight board said this flight will carry about 80 veterans who served during the nation’s conflicts. This flight’s hero passengers include: a veteran of World War II, three veterans of the Korean War, two female veterans, and many who served during the Vietnam War.
Ms. Geisler will be joined by a deputy commander and three experienced bus captains for the daylong flight and bus tour. The veterans also will be accompanied by more than 70 trained volunteer “guardians” who will assist them throughout the day.
The public is invited to make their return home a special event by greeting them at the Quad Cities International Airport. They are expected to return about 10 p.m. to the Moline airport. Parking at the airport will be free for the Welcome Home event.
Honor Flight is continuing to accept applications for future flights. Any veteran with six months of honorable, non-training, active duty before 1976 is urged to fill out an application and send it (along with a DD214) to Honor Flight, c/o Ridgecrest Village, 4130 Northwest Blvd., Davenport, IA 52806.
Those interested in participating as a flight guardian to assist the veterans (some may be in a wheelchair) may fill out a special “guardian application.” All applications are available www.honorflightqc.org as well as honorflight@ridgecrestvillage.org.
