Last Flight of Honor scheduled
Published 12:00 am Friday, June 24, 2011
Rotary District 7680 will send its final Flight of Honor Saturday, Sept. 17, for World War II veterans to see the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
World War II veterans who want to go should fill out an application and mail it immediately.
Veterans who have access to a computer may go to www.flightofhonor.org and download the application from the right side of the home page. If they don’t have access to a computer, they may call Susan Nota at 704-596-6663, and she will mail applications to them.
District 7680’s previous six flights have sent more than 600 World War II veterans from the 14 counties in Rotary District 7680 to Washington to see their memorial. The one-day trip is at no cost to the veterans. The flight this fall will send 120 or more veterans to Washington.
Kelly Morris, chair of the Rotary District 7680 Flight of Honor Committee, said, “It has been a great privilege for our committee to be able to honor in this small way the men and women who served during World War II. They are truly the ‘Greatest Generation’ of Americans. They saved the world from domination by the Nazis, the Fascists and the Japanese militarists.
“We want to make this final Flight of Honor the best one. Anyone who knows a World War II veteran who has not been on a Flight of Honor and wants to go, should urge the veteran to send in an application as soon as possible.”
Anyone wanting to contribute to help with this final flight can mail a donation to Rotary Flight of Honor, P.O. Box 495, Gastonia, NC 28053.
Each flight costs more than $60,000 for the chartered plane, buses for transportation in Washington, lunch, wheelchair rentals and other expenses. Contributions are deductible under the federal tax code. Additional information is on the web site: www.flightofhonor.org.
The 55 Rotary Clubs in District 7680 are part of a worldwide organization of business, professional and community leaders that provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world.
Rotary District 7680 encompasses clubs in Anson, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, Union, and Wilkes counties.