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Honor Flights

Honor Flights

A Korean War Veteran sits in front of the World War II Memorial on Wednesday, April 25. On Honor Flights, veterans begin at the World War II Memorial, and then make their way to the Vietnam and Korean memorials, before ending at the Lincoln Memorial. "Most of the Veterans on our trips are Vietnam and Korea vets," said Honor Flight organizer Pete MacKenzie. "Often, visits to the World War II Memorial are almost celebratory in nature - the visit to the Vietnam Memorial is often somber, and very sad."

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Stone Baker

Korean Army vet Stone Baker, from Wamego, Kansas, photographs the Korean War memorial during his honor flight trip on April 25. "Our journey to the memorials is in many ways a sacred quest," said MacKenzie. "For many of these Veterans it shepherds a significant healing of significant past wrongs, and allows them to confront the experiences they've had."

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Korean & Vietnam Veterans

A group of veterans from Kansas gathered in front of the Korean Memorial on April 25.

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JB Coonce, Korean Veteran

JB Coonce, a Korean Army vet from Kansas, waits to get his portrait taken in front of the Korean Memorial on April 25. Every veteran on Honor Flights gets a guardian, or someone to keep an eye on them while they tour the memorials.

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Norm Steffey, Korean Veteran

Norm Steffey, a Korean Air Force vet from Kansas, salutes with fellow veterans as tourists pass and thank them for their service on April 25.

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John Frazier, Vietnam Veteran

A Vietnam veteran from Dayton, Ohio, touches the wall as he looks for names of people he served with. The Vietnam Memorial is often "the hardest visit" of the day for veterans, said MacKenzie, because most of the individuals on his Honor Flight served in Vietnam.

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Earl Cuyler, Korean Veteran

Earl Cuyler, a Korean War veteran from Arizona, salutes as he passes on April 25. While many veterans celebrate their visit to the Vietnam Memorial, others struggle as they relive their experiences and experience "significant healing of significant past wrongs," said MacKenzie.

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Nicolas Wilson, Guardian

Nicolas Wilson, an Honor Flight guardian from Indiana, bends down to examine the letters left to casualties of the Vietnam War.

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Roger Thompson, Vietnam Veteran

Roger Thompson, a Vietnam Marine from Hanover, Ohio, travelled to Washington, D.C. with the Central Ohio Honor Flight on April 28. Thompson placed an American flag at panel 29E, where his friend's name was listed.

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We Can Never Fill Your Shoes

Friends and family of casualties from the Vietnam War leave memorial objects along the wall. These shoes, fashioned to look like the American flag, read "We Can Never Fill Your Shoes."

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James Preston etching

James Preston, a Vietnam veteran from Indiana, etches a name from the wall while crying. Honor Flight veterans have the option to etch names, leave letters and belongings, and place flowers along the Vietnam Wall to honor their fallen loved ones.

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Another Vietnam veteran etches the name of his friend on April 28.

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Richard Johnson, Vietnam Veteran

Richard Johnson, a Vietnam veteran from Indiana, looks at the wall with his brother, a Korean War veteran. The Johnson brothers had a third brother who passed away while serving in Vietnam, and they examined one of the panels for his name.

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Leonard Siegfried, Joe McGrath, Vietnam Veterans

Leonard Siegfried (seated) and Joe McGrath (left), Vietnam veterans from Lake County, Indiana, support each other during their first visit to the Vietnam Wall. Later, Siegfried said his reason for fighting in the war: "I did it all for you. I did it for all of us."

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John Frazier, Vietnam Veteran

John Frazier, a Vietnam veteran from Dayton, Ohio, touches the wall as he looks for names of his friends. The Vietnam Memorial is often "the hardest visit" of the day for veterans, said MacKenzie.

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Bill Wickham, Vietnam Veteran

Bill Wickham, a Vietnam veteran from Columbus, Ohio, cries while reading the names on the Vietnam Memorial. "I didn’t feel like a hero," he said. "[I am] sorry to cause so much pain."

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Bill Wickham, Vietnam Veteran

After returning from the war, Wickham says veterans were greeted with anger and resentment for the troops. "Attitudes towards us are finally changing," Wickham said during his first-ever visit to the memorial. "It took too damn long for people to see me for the things I did for our country."

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Richard McFarlin, Vietnam Veteran

Richard McFarlin, a Vietnam Veteran from Lake County, Indiana, carries the flag of WWII veteran William Cichocki. Cichocki was McFarlin's close friend, and was scheduled to travel with the Honor Flight on April 28, but passed away in early April.

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Linda McLenahan, Vietnam Veteran

Linda McLenahan, one of the few female veterans from Vietnam and Korea, visited the Vietnam Memorial to look for her brother's name. Her brother was drafted, and McLenahan "returned from service on his 21st birthday, but he died while he was over there.”

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Karen Thurber, Vietnam Veteran

Karen Thurber, a female veteran, takes part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Vietnam Memorial on April 28.

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The Queen, Vietnam Veteran

Diane "The Queen" Brown, a Vietnam veteran from Indiana, said she joined the Honor Flight because "there aren't many of us. ... That’s why I need to be here. … They didn’t allow us to carry guns, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t fight. They gave us the ‘safe’ jobs. … We were in the same situations as men, but … we couldn’t protect ourselves."

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Charlotte Phillips, Vietnam Veteran

Charlotte Phillips, a Vietnam veteran, attended a wreath-laying at the Vietnam Memorial.

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Female Vietnam Veterans

Four female Vietnam veterans walked from laying a wreath for female vets at the Vietnam Memorial to the Lincoln Memorial.

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Gary Garrett, Robert Deal Jr.

Gary Garret (right), a Vietnam veteran from Kansas City, and Robert Deal Jr., a Korean War veteran from Kansas City, trade war stories at the end of their Honor Flight. Most flights end at the Lincoln Memorial, where veterans can sit and talk with one another as part of their healing process.

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Honor Flights

A World War II Veteran sits at the Reflecting Pool at the end of the Honor Flight.

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