In late April on its sixth annual honor flight, the High Plains Honor Flight organization flew 120 veterans (some in wheel
chairs) and their guardians, and staff to Washington D.C. for a two-day round trip from the Northern Colorado Regional Air
port in Loveland. The veterans viewed many of the military and other national memorials in D.C. in honor of their past service.
Retired USAF Col Skip Johnson
The original Honor Flight of Northern Colorado organization began in 2008 under Army Col. Stan Cass and achieved 21 honor flights for WWII and Purple Heart veterans to D.C. In 2019, the High Plains Honor Flight under Army veteran and President
Matt Voris took over the honor f light organization and extended the veteran’s coverage to Wyoming and Nebraska. This organization is part of the National Honor Flight Network with the mission of giving veterans from WWII, Korean War, and Vietnam War the opportunity to visit their memorial in Washington, D.C.
The two-day trip starts off with a send-off by several hundred past honor flight recipients, veteran’s families, and local veterans with introductions by the staff, retired pastor David Meek giving the invocation, keynote speaker retired USAF Col. Skip Johnson, and several veterans giving appreciation speeches or poetry in honor of the veterans.
The veterans tour many of the D.C. memorials including the Vietnam Wall, Korean War memorial, WWII memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and take a group photo in front of the Lincoln Memorial.
Upon returning to Colorado, the veterans are given letters from local school students thanking them for their service! Many thanks go to the donors, guardians, and staff who help achieve the honor flight veterans’ mission of seeing their memorial one last time! For info on their next honor flight, visit their website at https://highplainshonorflight.org.