honorflight reunionWith fewer than 500 veterans signed up to fly with Honor Flight Dayton in 2016, board members are encouraging veterans of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to apply, as the organization will likely be able to accommodate all of its applicants next year if more do not register.

Honor Flight Dayton held a reunion ceremony on Sunday at the Clark County Fairgrounds, welcoming veterans and their families who had flown with them on past flights. The reception hall was overflowing with hundreds of veterans catching up with old friends and fellow vets who had been on their respective Honor Flight.

Larry Blackmore of Honor Flight Dayton said that this year’s reception was better attended than previous events because all of their trips had been charter flights this year, with roughly 100 veterans on each flight.

Blackmore said the board had just received new numbers regarding how many veterans were currently registered to fly with them this year, saying that they were really going to rely on their past veterans to recruit their friends to sign up.

Jim Caporini said that they currently have a total of 490 veterans signed up for 2016, noting that if they take six trips in 2016 as planned, that they should be able to fly all of their current applicants. Caporini said there are roughly two dozen World War II veterans currently registered, with around 35 from Korea and over 400 from Vietnam signed up to go.

Al Bailey of Honor Flight Dayton said that it has been important for him to go out in the surrounding communities and push for interested local veterans to fly with them to tour the best sights D.C. has to offer. Bailey spoke to a church in New Carlisle last week about Honor Flight Dayton, and said he plans on using many other community outlets to spread Honor Flight’s message.

During Sunday’s reunion, Major General Ed Mechenbier was featured as the guest speaker. Mechenbier graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1964. In 1967, he was shot down during his 80th mission over North Vietnam and spent almost six years as a prisoner of war. In 2000, he was named mobilization assistant to the Commander, Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

Blackmore said that they have three trips scheduled in the spring of 2016 so far, and that they’ll likely wait to schedule the fall trips until they see how many people they’ve signed up in their recruiting process this winter. The trip is totally free of charge to veterans, who are flown to D.C. and given a grand tour of the city as well as the memorials erected in honor of veterans who fought in major American conflicts. Aboard a charter bus, the vets visit the memorials of World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, as well as the Air Force and Marines (Iwo Jima) memorials, and a trip to Arlington National Center to see the Changing of the Guard. The veterans’ breakfast, lunch, and dinner is also provided without cost. Guardians on the trip, who serve as the veterans’ personal assistant for the day, must pay their own way.

Blackmore said they had a first-time experience on one of their most recent trips, as the younger generation of veterans got to act as guardians for the older gentlemen from earlier conflicts. He said that a number of members of the Troy Elks flew with them this fall, and that Iraq veterans acted as guardians for their Korean and WWII veteran members, with their guardians’ costs covered by donations to the Elks. Blackmore said this was a truly significant event to watch as different generations of veterans got to share the experience with one another.

Veterans and guardians are encouraged to sign up for Honor Flight as soon as possible. Applications may be found online at www.honorflightdayton.org, or by calling 937-322-4448.

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