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Great River Honor Flight Announces
76th Mission
First All-Women Veterans Flight
The Great River Honor Flight Board of Directors proudly announces that the 76th mission will be its first All-Women Veterans Honor Flight. It will be held over two days on June 18 – 19 out of Hannibal, Missouri. A total of 37 veterans will take part on this trip. Of them, 5 served during the Vietnam era, 21 during the Gulf War, and the remaining 11 served between those conflicts. They represent Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army National Guard.
The idea for this special mission came from multiple conversations between Maria Poindexter, Commander of the American Legion Post 55 in Hannibal and members of the Great River Honor Flight Board. “Over the past 16 years, we have been honored to offer 2,414 veterans the Honor Flight experience, but the majority of them have been males,” stated Carlos Fernandez, Chair of the Board. The mission will take place over two days – June 18th and 19th. The first day will include a pre-flight briefing along with tours of Hannibal destinations including the Mark Twain Home and Museum as well as other popular sites. This first day will conclude with a riverboat cruise on the Mississippi River and a dinner at the American Legion Hall.
The second day (June 19th) will start at 1:00 am on the campus of Hannibal La Grange University before departing for Washington DC. “This is a wonderful opportunity to honor these women who stepped up and honorably served their country,” added Sharon Lake, Vice-Chair of the Great River Honor Flight Board and Flight Captain for this mission.
The 37 veterans on this flight come from Missouri (Marion, Pike, Ralls, St. Charles, Clark, Macon, Randolph, Polk, Adair, Lincoln, Jackson, Cedar, and Boone counties), Illinois (Adams, McDonough, Pike, and DeKalb counties), as well as North Carolina, Texas and California. The veterans served in a number of roles among them Communications, Security, Food Service, Radar Operator, Nursing, Cryptology Technician, Field Artillery, Satellite Repair, Radio Operator and Military Intelligence. A list of the veterans and their hometowns is included at the end of this News Release.
The June 19th trip’s itinerary will follow the itinerary that has been so successful over the past 16 years but will also feature a tour and special recognition program at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery. It includes a 2:15AM departure for a bus ride to Lambert Field in St. Louis where they will board their flight to Baltimore and then on to DC. There they will visit the Vietnam Wall, Korea Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Air Force Memorial, observe the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery and then dinner at the Women’s Memorial. The veterans will then head to Reagan International Airport for their return flight back to St. Louis. A charter bus will bring them back to the HLGU Basketball Arena for a rousing homecoming. The expected arrival time back in Hannibal will be around 10:00PM.
Great River Honor Flight was chartered on Veterans Day 2009 with its first flight scheduled on April 13, 2010. Our goal remains to honor the total number of local veterans who served our country with a FREE trip to Washington DC.
To date Great River Honor Flight, the Tri-States’ hub of the Honor Flight program has flown 2,414 local Veterans to Washington D.C. since it was established in 2009. This trip will increase that total to 2,451. Great River Honor Flight, a Missouri Nonprofit Corporation established in October of 2009, was created solely to honor America’s veterans that live in our area for all they have sacrificed by providing, free of charge, transportation to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.
For additional information or interview, contact Carlos Fernandez at csfernandez1951@gmail.com or
Great River Honor Flight
PO Box 3723
Quincy, Illinois 62305
THE VETERANS ATTENDING
THE 76TH MISSION:
Great River Honor Flight First all Women's Veterans mission.
Great River Honor Flight #76
Itinerary
all womens trip - day one - june 18, 2025
Following times are Central
09:00 am
All Participants meet at American Legion, Hannibal (3819 Hwy MM).
Fiddlesticks serves brunch
10:00 am
Pre-flight meeting at American Legion
11:30 am
Bus Loading at American Legion to Twain Interpretive Center
11:45 am
Arrive at Interpretive Center – Break up into 3 Groups
Group 1
11:45 am
Kathy Asbury leads Group 1 tour (includes Interpretive Center, Huck Finn House, Boyhood Home, Becky Thatcher House, J.M. Clemens Justice of the Peace Office, Grant’s Drug Store).
12:15 pm
Walk to Mark Twain Museum and Gallery
12:30 pm
Arrive at museum gallery.... Tour Museum
1:00 pm
Molly Brown (Erin Kelly) will give a 20-minute presentation to all the veterans – 2nd Floor Conference Room
1:30 pm
Load bus at museum and gallery 120 N. Main for tour of Hannibal
GROUP 2
11:45 am
Tom and Becky leads Group 2 tour. Will follow Group 1 schedule
1:30 pm
Load on bus at museum and gallery 120 N. Main for tour of Hannibal
GROUP 3
11:45 am
Lanie Privett leads Group 3 tour. Will follow Group 1 schedule
1:30 pm
Load on bus at museum and gallery 120 N. Main for tour of Hannibal
all groups
1:30 pm
Tour of Hannibal - Eat Lunch on bus
3:30 pm
Arrive at Mark Twain Riverboat
4:00 pm
Mark Twain Riverboat Cruise
5:30 pm
Load bus for trip to Hannibal American Legion
5:45 pm
Hannibal American Legion
Light Dinner at Hannibal American Legion
7:00 pm
Veterans head to Hotel – Sleep Inn & Suites (105 Lakeside Dr.)
Great River Honor Flight #76
Itinerary
all womens trip - day TWO - june 19, 2025
Following times are Eastern
08:50 am
Flight arrives at BWI (Baltimore)
09:30 am
Board Bus for trip to Washington - Lunch and Video of Memorials
10:15 am
Arrive at Vietnam, Korea and Lincoln Memorials.
Note: Longest stop of day.
Bus will unload close to Vietnam Memorial. Bus will load close to Korea Memorial.
11:30 am
Depart Korean/Vietnam Memorial for WWII Memorial.
11:45 am
Arrive at World War II Memorial - Group picture to be taken.
12:30 pm
Depart WWII Memorial – Go to Air Force Memorial
12:50 pm
Air Force Memorial
1:20 pm
Head to Iwo Jima for Drive-thru
1:40 pm
Depart Iwo Jima for Arlington National Cemetery
2:00 pm
Arrive at Arlington – Changing of the Guard at 2:30
3:00 pm
Depart Tomb of the Unknown for Women’s Memorial
3:15 pm
Women’s Memorial – Museum Tour, Program and Dinner
5:00 pm
Head to Reagan National Airport
5:20 pm
Arrive at Reagan National Airport - TSA
6:35 pm
Southwest Airlines Flight 2310 departs Reagan National (DC)
Following times are Central
7:50 pm
Flight arrives at STL airport/ Board Bus for HLGU, Hannibal
10:00 pm
Approximate time of arrival at HLGU Basketball Arena
To the Staff of the Great River Honor Flight,
I am incredibly grateful to the Great River Honor Flight for allowing me to participate in Mission 70 to Washington DC. I know the planning and coordination required to execute this as well as you did was no small feat. My heart felt salute and thank you to all and I will remember this day forever.
Please let me give you a little background. I was a 19-year-old private in the Army when I arrived in Vietnam. I was a medic assigned to an infantry unit with nothing more than basic medical life saving skills. I soon discovered just how ugly war is. My hands have been soaked in the blood of my enemy and the blood of my friends. No amount of washing has ever taken the stain out. I have been scared like no person ever should be. This day brought back both emotional relief and overwhelming sadness. As I looked upon that wall I couldn’t help but think back at how many times I was given the opportunity to be among their names. I shook my head in disbelief that I was one of the fortunate ones to make it back alive. I still wonder why to this day. My mind gets stuck on how it could have turned out so different.
I confess. When entered the sports complex upon our return and all those people were there to welcome us back, I cried. I never felt so warmly appreciated for my service as I did upon our return from Mission 70. It was an emotional but a joyous day for me and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
David A Knotts
Command Sergeant Major (Ret)
U.S.Army
To Celebrate America’s Veterans
by inviting them to share in a day of Honor at our Nation’s Memorials
Great River Honor Flight, a Missouri Nonprofit Corporation established in October of 2009, was created solely to honor America’s veterans that live in our area for all they have sacrificed by providing, free of charge, transportation to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.
Great River Honor Flight first flight was scheduled on April 13, 2010. Back then all the veterans were from World War II. That is the way it continued for several years until it was decided to expand to those veterans who had served during the Korean War. Since then, we have also expanded to include veterans during the Vietnam War as well as those who served between those conflicts. Our goal is to continue to increase the total number of local veterans who have flown to Washington DC for free thanks to the financial support of so many individuals, groups and businesses in the area who remained supportive of the cause since its beginning.
