FORT WAYNE, Ind. — On April 22, eighty-five American heroes will board a plane at Fort Wayne International Airport and fly to Washington, D.C., many for the first time in their lives. They will walk among the memorials built in their honor, touch the names etched in stone, and finally feel the gratitude their country owed them decades ago.
This is Honor Flight Northeast Indiana’s 55th mission, and it may be one of the most emotional yet.
A Trip 11 Years in the Making
Honor Flight Northeast Indiana began flying local veterans to the nation’s capital in 2013. In just over a decade, the nonprofit has completed 54 sold-out trips and brought more than 4,200 veterans home to hero’s welcomes that often leave the terminal packed shoulder-to-shoulder with flag-waving strangers.
Each flight is free to the veteran. Every dollar comes from donations, sponsorships, and thousands of small contributions from people who simply want to say thank you.
Who’s Flying on the 55th Trip
This spring’s group is heavily weighted toward the war most in need of healing.
- 66 served in Vietnam
- 13 served during the Cold War
- 3 served in the Korean War
- 3 served in other eras
That means nearly 80 percent of the seats belong to Vietnam veterans, men (and a few women) who came home to silence, protests, or worse. For many, this single day in Washington will be the first time anyone has ever thanked them out loud.
One Day That Changes Everything
The schedule is tight but perfect.
Veterans and their guardians (most are family members or volunteers) arrive before dawn. The plane lifts off around 7 a.m. By 9 a.m. they’re on buses rolling past monuments most Americans only see in textbooks.
They stop at the World War II Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Wall, Arlington National Cemetery for the Changing of the Guard, and several other sites. Everywhere they go, strangers clap, shake hands, and ask to take photos with “the heroes.”
Then comes the part that breaks everyone.
On the flight home, each veteran receives a mail-call bag stuffed with letters — hundreds of them — from school kids, coworkers, neighbors, and total strangers back home. Flight attendants read some aloud over the PA system. There is not a dry eye on the plane.
The Welcome Home No One Forgets
The plane lands at 8:30 p.m. on April 22.
What waits on the ground is pure Hoosier thunder.
Last fall’s flight saw more than 2,000 people pack the terminal holding flags, signs, and tears. Bagpipers play. Police and fire honor guards salute. Kids hand out cookies. Grown men who haven’t cried in fifty years lose it completely when they see the crowd screaming “Welcome home!”
Cathy Berkshire, president of Honor Flight Northeast Indiana, says every return still catches her off guard.
“We think we’re ready for it, and then we walk through that door and the noise hits you like a wave,” she said. “It’s the loudest, happiest sound you’ll ever hear.”
How You Can Be Part of It
Want to help send more veterans or greet them when they land?
The welcome home on April 22 is open to everyone. Bring a flag, bring a sign, bring your kids. Just show up at Fort Wayne International Airport around 8 p.m. The more the merrier — these veterans deserve the biggest crowd we can give them.
Donations are always needed. A single veteran’s trip costs about $1,200. Every dollar goes straight to the mission.
Applications for future flights are open year-round at honorflightnei.org. Vietnam veterans and terminally ill veterans of any era go to the top of the list.
Fifty-five flights down. Hundreds more heroes still waiting.
Let’s keep these planes flying until every last one hears the thank you they earned a lifetime ago.
