On October 4, 2014, Honor Flight Syracuse completed its fourth mission. Sixty-three veterans from across CNY traveled to Washington, DC with their comrades and guardians. The o’ dark thirty departure was no trouble for our heroes thanks to dozens of cheery volunteers that helped with check-in and security at the airport. After a warm welcome at DCA, the group spent the morning touring the WWII, Korean, and Vietnam memorials. Witnessing the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery was one of many highlights of the trip. After a stop at the Iwo Jima memorial, HFS also visited the Air Force Memorial for the first time. Just when our veterans thought their day was winding down on the short plane-ride back to Syracuse, they were surprised with a mail-call with dozens of personalized letters from students. Our flight was greeted by our largest crowd to date—hundreds of friends, family, and community members all came out to give our veterans well-deserved welcome home. The 15-hour day was long, but very memorable for our aging veterans.

Mark your calendar for Mission 005 – April 25, 2015. As the urgency to serve our aging veterans grows daily, we’re pleased to share that HFS will charter larger airplanes for our 2015 flights. Up to 80 veterans will travel on each of our upcoming missions. We’re always accepting applications, so please encourage veterans to apply for a future flight (priority is given by age and health). We hope to see you for a big Mission 005 Welcome Home at Hancock Airport on April 25!