 August
24, 2010
Just over a month since our epic flight from EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Old Glory
Honor Flight returns to Appleton for its fourth mission of 2010 and fifth mission overall.
Mission V will begin at the Outagamie County Regional Airport at 6 AM next Tuesday. 89 World War II veterans
along with 73 volunteer guardians will depart for Washington, DC for a day trip of our Nation’s Capital. 13 of
the veterans on this trip are over the age of 90 and 7 of those are over age 95.
While in Washington, these
veterans and their guardians will tour the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and Arlington
National Cemetery. They will also take a short bus tour of the city before returning to Appleton for a rousing welcome
home ceremony beginning at 9 PM. Members of the media and the general public are encouraged to join us in giving these
heroes a welcome home they will never forget.
“With nearly 1000
WWII veterans passing away every day in this country, time is not on our side. Far too many of these veterans were never
given the recognition they deserved when they returned home after the war and most never had the chance to see their Memorial
in Washington. This is our way of saying thank you to the “Greatest Generation” for preserving our way of
life for generations to come,” said Ron Lecker, a spokesman for Old Glory Honor Flight.
June 28, 2010
Old Glory Honor Flight
is excited to announce that our 4th mission from Northeast Wisconsin will be a part of EAA AirVenture 2010 in Oshkosh on Thursday,
July 29. A partnership between EAA, American Airlines, and Old Glory Honor Flight was finalized this week that will
take approximately 80 WWII veterans from Northeast Wisconsin directly from the EAA grounds in Oshkosh to Washington, DC.
The return ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at the end of the evening air show in front of an estimated crowd of
20,000, would be the largest return ceremony in Honor Flight history.
These 80 veterans, their guardians, members
of the media, and other dignitaries will depart from the EAA grounds aboard American Airlines 737 “Flagship Liberty”
at 8 AM and return shortly after 6 PM following a trip to our Nation’s Capital. The veterans will have time to
spend at the WWII Memorial, the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial wall before returning
to Oshkosh. NOTE: Due to time constraints, the Arlington National Cemetery Tour
and changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier will NOT be a part of this trip.
“Old Glory Honor
Flight would like to express our deepest gratitude to the organizers of EAA and American Airlines for joining together in
our salute to World War II veterans. We are all looking forward to the tremendous homecoming these men and women have
earned and many never received. It is the least we can do for our greatest generation,” said Ron Lecker, a spokesman
for Old Glory Honor Flight.
"Adding the Old Glory Honor Flight to AirVenture is
a natural fit with this year's 'Salute to Veterans' theme," said Tom Poberezny, EAA chairman/president and AirVenture
chairman. "We are honored to partner with American Airlines and the Honor Flight Network, giving these heroes the opportunity
to see the sites dedicated to their service and allowing them to receive the recognition they deserve."
"All of us
at American Airlines are excited to be a part of this year's EAA AirVenture, and especially to have the opportunity to fly
some of our nation's greatest treasures—World War II veterans—to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.,"
said Captain Steve Blankenship, Managing Director—Veterans Initiatives for American Airlines. "American has a long
history of supporting our troops, veterans and their families. It is an honor to serve the members of the 'Greatest Generation'
who have given so much for this country."
The Old Glory Honor Flight is one of hundreds
of activities comprising the week-long "Salute to Veterans" commemoration at the "World's Greatest Aviation
Celebration," which is being held July 26-August 1 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh.
May 21, 2010
Old Glory Honor Flight is proud to announce the receipt of a substantial donation in the amount of $25,000
from Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation. To show our appreciation for this donation, our third
flight from the Fox Valley to Washington, DC will be known as Old Glory Honor Flight Mission III Sponsored by Oshkosh
Defense.
On behalf of the Old Glory Honor Flight Board of Directors, I would like to offer our deepest gratitude
and appreciation to Oshkosh Defense for their generous support of our organization. This donation is invaluable to our
area veterans waiting to take an Honor Flight from Northeast Wisconsin.
Oshkosh Defense, a division of Oshkosh Corporation, is an industry-leading global designer and manufacturer
of tactical military trucks and armored wheeled vehicles, delivering a full product line of conventional and hybrid vehicles,
advanced armor options, proprietary suspensions and vehicles with payloads that can exceed 70 tons. Oshkosh Defense provides
a global service and supply network including full life-cycle support and remanufacturing, and its vehicles are recognized
the world over for superior performance, reliability and protection. For more information, visit www.oshkoshdefense.com.
From Left to Right: Merisue Krenke and Andy Hove of Oshkosh Defense, Diane
MacDonald, Jon LiDonne, and Drew MacDonald of Old Glory Honor Flight.
April 1, 2010
Old Glory Honor Flight is gearing up for our second flight to Washington, DC on Thursday,
April 8. Approximately 100 World War II veterans and 50 guardians from Northeast Wisconsin will board a chartered Sun
Country jet bound for our nation's capital.
The flight is scheduled to depart from the Outagamie County Regional
Airport in Appleton at 6:45 AM. While in Washington, DC, the veterans will tour the World War II Memorial, which opened
in 2004. They will also visit the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Koren War Memorial, and the Vietnam War Memorial. They
will go on to tour Arlington National Cemetery, and finish with a bus tour of the city.
A return ceremony is planned
beginning at 9:30 PM that same evening in the airport lobby for family, friends, and the general public. Members of
the media as well as state and local representatives are encouraged to attend and give these veterans the heroes welcome they
deserve.
April 1, 2010
Old
Glory Honor Flight is extremely pleased to announce the receipt of a $22,000 donation from Kwik Trip. Kwik Trip stores
company-wide raised funds for a number of Honor Flight hubs in the upper Midwest this past February.
The share
received by Old Glory Honor Flight will be used to fly 44 World War II veterans from Northeast Wisconsin to Washington, DC
to visit the memorials dedicated in their honor.
Old Glory Honor Flight would like to extend our gratitude to
Kwik Trip for their generous support of our organization. We currently have over 450 veterans on our waiting list and
this donation will go a long way to help achieve our goal of transporting every local World War II veteran to see their
memorial before it is too late.
Old Glory Honor Flight is currently planning on taking 5 trips to Washington,
DC in 2010. Each Honor Flight carries approximately 100 veterans and 50 guardians to take care of their needs throughout
the day-long trip.
April 1, 2010
Old Glory Honor Flight is proud to announce the receipt of a generous grant from Octoberfest in Appleton.
This grant in the amount of $3,500 will be used to fund our latest venture called Operation Legacy.
The mission
of Old Glory Honor Flight is to offer World War II veterans a memorable, safe and rewarding tour of honor to our Nation's
Capital. However, bringing these veterans that fought so hard for our nation to see the memorials in their honor is not our
only duty. We strongly believe that our organization should do all it can to preserve the honorable, self-less and heroic
stories of freedom.
The goal of Operation Legacy is to create a book that compiles the stories of veterans and
their wartime experiences. Each veteran that has gone on their tour of honor with Old Glory Honor Flight will have a chance
to sit with a volunteer interviewer and share their story. By doing this, veterans, their families and all generations to
come will have a work that forever preserves the stories from one of America’s finest moments in history.
Old Glory Honor Flight expects to have this book published and available for sale later this year.
February 11, 2010
Appleton, WI -- Old Glory Honor Flight
announces that all 5 Wisconsin Honor Flight hubs have teamed up with Kwik Trip stores to raise funds for the Honor Flight
programs statewide. This promotion will last from February 12-25, 2010. Old Glory Honor Flight will receive the
proceeds from all participating Kwik Trip stores in Northeast and East Central Wisconsin.
Kwik Trip will be offering
name cards to their customers for a donation to the Honor Flight programs. These name cards will be displayed around
the stores. Some locations will also have donation containers available.
Honor Flight hubs benefiting from
this fund-raiser are Old Glory Honor Flight (Appleton), Stars and Stripes Honor Flight (Milwaukee), Badger Honor Flight (Madison),
Freedom Honor Flight (LaCrosse), and Never Forgotten Honor Flight (Wausau).
"We at Old Glory Honor Flight
would like to extend our deepest gratitude to everyone at Kwik Trip for their generosity and appreciation for our World War
II veterans. This program is certain to give many of these Wisconsin heroes the Tour of Honor they have earned."
says Ron Lecker, a spokesman for Old Glory Honor Flight.
February 8, 2010
Old Glory Honor Flight is proud to announce the date of our next
flight to Washington, DC carrying approximately 100 World War II veterans from Northeast Wisconsin. It will be held
on Thursday, April 8, 2010 and will again originate from the Outagamie County Regional Airport
in Appleton.
In addition to this, Old Glory Honor Flight has released a 10 minute video of the flight in October
2009, available on our website. All WWII veterans are encouraged to apply as soon as possible as we currently have over 400 veterans on our waiting list.
Old Glory Honor Flight also today unveiled "Operation
Legacy" which involves publishing a book of stories from WWII veterans from Northeast Wisconsin. We also hope to
bring our mission to the attention of young students by uniting area schools with veterans who participated in our program.
A fund-raiser at Kwik Trip (February 12-25) and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle raffle and ride at Waverly Beach
in Menasha (July 24) were also announced today.
October
29, 2009
Old Glory Honor Flight would like to thank everyone
who made our first trip such a great success! Not even the pouring rain could stop these heroes from the "Greatest
Generation" from having one of the most memorable experiences of their lives.
We would like to offer a special
note of thanks to WBAY Channel 2 and the Appleton Post Crescent for providing such wonderful coverage of this event from start to finish. Some of the most memorable experiences from
that day will live on forever in the hearts and minds of the veterans and their families, and it is so important that others
hear about our organization so that they too may take part in one of our future flights.
Thank you so much to Candlewood
Suites in Appleton for their hospitality to our veterans and others going on this flight. Thank you to everyone at Outagamie
County Regional Airport for their dedication, long hours, and everything else they did to make this day a success. We
simply couldn't have done this without you.
Thank
you to Rich Langan for volunteering your time and energy to ensure we had such wonderful photographs of our first big event.
Please take some time to click the Photos tab and view our photos on Picasa web albums.
Thanks also to former Senator
Bob Dole and Congressman Steve Kagen for taking time out of your busy schedules to share in this experience with our northeast
Wisconsin WWII veterans.
And finally, thank you to everyone who came out on Tuesday night to show your support
for our National Heroes. This event, to say the least, was one of the most heart-warming experiences these veterans
have ever had.
In the coming weeks, please
watch this website for photos and videos of the event and please feel free to download our veterans and guardian applications
if you wish to join us next year.
October 26, 2009 The first Old Glory Honor Flight takes off tomorrow!! Thank you so much
to everyone who contributed their time, money or anything else to make this trip possible.
Please come out
to the Outagamie Regional Airport in Appleton to welcome these veterans home Tuesday night.
Their flight is scheduled to return at 9:45 PM. It will be a magical moment you will not
want to miss!
This is the least we could to thank those who risked their lives so long ago so
that we may enjoy the freedoms we have today. See you there!
October 17, 2009
10 days to go!!!
Old
Glory Honor Flight is making its final preparations for the maiden flight on October
27.
Please help us with our last push for donations before the flight.
Every little bit counts! When you watch the news that Tuesday, you will see what your donation was for. Our national heroes
getting the trip of a lifetime!!! Take a moment to watch some of the videos below from Stars and Stripes
Honor Flight in Milwaukee. Then click donate to the
right or mail your check to the address above. Thank you!
|
