CONTACT: Earl Morse FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WORK: 937 521-2400
CELL: 937 409-8387
Email: HonorFlight@aol.com
Honor Flight Headquarters Grand Opening
Scheduled for April 11, 2007
Springfield, OH – The Honor Flight program is spreading their wings. On Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at 12:30 PM, the public is invited to attend the Grand Opening of the Honor Flight National Headquarters at 300 E. Auburn Ave, Springfield. The tour program is now in their third year of flying World War II Veterans out to visit their newly dedicated World War II Memorial in Washington DC. The flights are out and back on the same day. The veterans don’t pay a penny for round trip airfare, tour bus, meals and tee shirts. There are presently over 700 World War II Veterans on the Honor Flight waiting list.
The first flight took to the skies at the Springfield Municipal Airport on May 21, 2005 with six small aircraft and twelve veterans. Over the past two years, the program was based at Earl and Clarice Morse’s home in Enon Ohio. Today the Honor Flight program is a national phenomenon. Honor Flight has rapidly grown across the country with similar programs flying veterans from Columbus, Dayton, Cleveland and Akron-Canton Ohio, Hendersonville and Tarboro North Carolina, Provo Utah, Huntsville Alabama, Detroit Michigan, Fargo North Dakota, Buffalo New York, Hartford Connecticut, Atlanta and Valdosta Georgia, Jacksonville Florida, and many other locations. So far, 905 WWII Veterans have visited their memorial through the efforts of Honor Flight and affiliated programs. The goal for 2007 is that 5000 WWII Veterans visit THEIR memorial in DC.
Time is not on our side. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs and Arlington National Cemetery statistics, in 2007 about 1,200 WWII Veterans will pass away EVERY DAY. The youngest WWII Vet is 79 years old. In another 5 to 10 years, most WWII Veterans will be gone. Over 50 WWII Veterans on the waiting list have passed away, patiently waiting their turn. We are asking the public’s support to help make the dreams of these 700 veterans come true … before it’s too late. Despite our best efforts, Honor Flight receives no corporate or government sponsorship. We are funded solely by public donations.
Honor Flight National Headquarters is located on the top floor of the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) in Springfield. The facilities large conference areas, class rooms, office space, administrative support, and the experienced business counselors provide the best environment for the rapid growth of the program.
The festivities for the Grand Opening include:
12:30 to 1:00 PM – Reception, light snacks in the classroom, second floor.
1:00 to 1:30 PM – Ribbon cutting ceremony at the office, tour.
1:30 to 2:30 PM – Veteran flight trip orientation
7:00 to 8:30 PM – Guardian Training
If you would like more information about the Honor Flight program or the Grand Opening, please visit our web site at www.HonorFlight.org, call (937) 521-2400 or write: Honor Flight Inc., 300 E. Auburn Ave, Springfield OH 45505. We look forward to seeing you on April 11, 2007.