Great River Honor Flight Mission #72

Takes Overall Veteran Count Over 2,300

The Great River Honor Flight Board of Directors announced that the fourth mission of 2024, #72, will take place on Thursday, August 15th out of Hannibal LaGrange University in Hannibal. A total of 31 veterans will take part on this trip. Of them, 5 served in Korea, 21 served during the Vietnam era and the remaining 5 served before or after Vietnam. They represent Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Army National Guard.

This will be the 72nd mission overall for local veterans since the program started serving the Tri State region in 2010. Since then, 2,287 local veterans who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and between those conflicts have previously participated in this program. The 31 veterans on this flight come from Illinois (Adams county), Missouri (Marion, Lewis, Ralls, Lincoln, Audrain, Shelby, and St. Charles counties), plus Iowa (Des Moines county). The veterans served in a number of roles among them Communications, Aviation Mechanic, Supply Specialist, Welder/Fabricator, Cook, plus a door gunner who took part in 154 rescue attempts of POWs. A complete list of the veterans and their hometowns is included at the end of this News Release.

The departure and return on the August 15th mission will be from the campus of Hannibal LaGrange University in Hannibal, Missouri. The trip will follow the itinerary that has been so successful over the past 15 years. It includes a 2:30AM departure for a bus ride to Lambert Field in St. Louis where they will board their flight to Baltimore and then on to DC where they will visit the Vietnam Wall, Korea Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Air Force Memorial, Navy Memorial and see the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. 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 10:15PM.

The remaining missions planned for 2024 include:

#73 - Thursday, September 12, 2024 – out of John Wood Community College

#74 - Thursday, October 10, 2024 – out of Hannibal LaGrange University

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 2,287 local Veterans to Washington D.C. since it was established in 2009. This trip will increase that total to 2,318. 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, contact Carlos Fernandez at csfernandez1951@gmail.com or

Great River Honor Flight

PO Box 3723

Quincy, Illinois 62305

AFV stands for Armed Forces Veteran and represents someone who served in between or after major conflicts.