Honor Flight South Georgia
Honor Flight is a program designed to take all World War II veterans in the area to Washington DC to view the National WW II Memorial. Originated in Ohio by Earl Morse in 2004, the program has been a tremendous success with over 5,000 vets ranging in age from 79 to 102 years transported to Washington and back.
In 2007 and 2008, SGAMOAA organized Honor Flight South Georgia and, with the help of the local communities, sent over 300 veterans on three Honor Flights.
The South Georgia effort was the first in our great state and we were happy for the people of our area to be able to adopt a leadership role in Georgia. In every town this has been a genuine community effort in terms of volunteers, money, media support and equipment necessary to make the dream a reality.
The veterans were flown free of charge and with great honors paid during the trip. In addition, for every 3 - 4 veterans there was always one “Guardian,” a completely healthy person who has the responsibility of shepherding their vets every moment of the trip. For those who are disabled a wheel chair and a special guardian were provided.
All Honor Flight photos by Paul Levy of the Valdosta Daily Times.
Memories for a lifetime are the end product for the veterans and a great source of community pride for those who assisted. It was neither cheap nor easy, but we were confident that the people of South Georgia are up to the task and they were.