Southeast Florida Honor Flights WWII Mission needs help

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in Florida News

If you live in So. Florida, it is next to impossible that you haven’t heard of “Southeast Florida Honor Flights” whose sole mission has been to reach out to every WWII Veteran possible and get them involved with an Honor Flight.  

The Honor Flights have had a single purpose; to set aside a day several times a year and fly these heroes round trip to DC to visit the WWII Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and a few other selected sites in DC.  The next such flight is planned for September 19, 2015.  However, there is an urgent need to raise funds for future flights so SEFHF has partnered with Roger Dean Stadium and they are having a movie night on Wednesday, August 26 to show a documentary about the organization and past flights.  To follow that up, Roger Dean Stadium is hosting a “Military Appreciation Night” that same week on Saturday the 29th.  

I won’t mince words; these are both fund-raising events and every donation, small or large, will go a long way to make upcoming trips possible and successful.

Tickets to both events may be purchased at the Southeast Florida Honor Flights site, the Roger Dean Ticket Office, or TicketMaster.com   Even if you cannot attend these events, purchasing a ticket for posterity and maybe making an extra donation is a great way to say thank to these members of the Greatest Generation.      

The long day starts at 04:30 hours when they all meet at Palm Beach International Airport; some drive, some are bussed under escort by Patriot Guard Riders and Sheriff Deputies.  Once at PBI, they are escorted onto a chartered jet for the ride up.  

They are fed, and escorted the entire day by an assigned guardian.  Along the way they are often greeted by people from Congress and other dignitaries, as well as many passersby during the day.

Once the sites and sights have been seen and the mission is complete, they are flown back on the same jet to PBI.  At that point, unless they’ve somehow been part of one of these events before, they have no idea what awaits them at PBI.

The plane is met on the tarmac and greeted by two Fire Trucks which salute them with a water arch to pass under.  Then, as many as 3000 plus people; from a Scottish Bag-Pipe Ensemble, to Palm Beach County Fire/Rescue, contingents from ROTC groups, Boy Scouts, active Military, and just hundreds of Veterans, civilians and children await them inside the terminal to greet them, cheer them, thank them, offer them flowers, hugs, handshakes, and welcome them home.  I’ve never been to such an event where I didn’t find myself choking back tears.

My friends, for many of these men and women, this is the last great experience of their lives.  

Won’t you please honor them and consider a gift of any amount to help with this mission for our WWII Veterans, and also as SEFHF prepares to begin the next phase of missions to bring our Korean War Veterans up to visit their memorial.

No single group of individuals deserves our respect more than our Military Veterans of all wars.  We at The Patriots Press thank you in advance for your consideration and support.