The Rotary District 7680’s seventh and final Flight of Honor for World War II veterans will take place Saturday.
They have built memories for the veterans, their guardians and committee members, and now they will provide a tangible benefit to 11 organizations in five counties.
The company that has been providing wheelchairs for the flights is going out of the wheelchair business and offered 50 of them to the Flight of Honor at a reasonable price. The Flight of Honor Committee is donating them to 11 different organizations in five counties.
After the flight Saturday, the wheelchairs that night will be turned over to members of the committee who will deliver them to the recipient organizations. Those organizations are: Cabarrus County Parish Nursing, Cabarrus Health Academy, Cleveland County Hospice, Elder Orphan Care of Cabarrus County, Health Reach Clinic of Mooresville, Home Instead Senior Care, Hospice of Gaston County, Huntersville Outreach, Lifespan, Main Street Mission and Union Academy Charter School.
Kelly Morris, Flight of Honor committee chair, said, “These three years of Flights of Honor has been a wonderful project to recognize the courage, perseverance and sacrifice of the World War II veterans.
“We had an opportunity to purchase the wheelchairs at a very reasonable price. Now the Flight of Honor can go on doing good for the 11 organizations that will receive the chairs Saturday night.
“The people who served on the Flight of Honor Committee have been honored and privileged to put together these flights as a small measure of appreciation for what these veterans did in saving the world from German Nazism, Italian Fascism and Japanese militarism.”
Each of the seven flights, which began in 2009, have cost approximately $60,000 to charter the planes, rent buses in Washington and pay for lunch, T-shirts, hats and other expenses.
The money came from individual Rotarians, Rotary Clubs, companies, foundations and other organizations.
Rotary District 7680 encompasses clubs in Anson, Ashe, Alleghany, Alexander, Cabarrus, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Mecklenburg, Richmond, Rowan, Stanly, Union and Wilkes counties.
At least 13 veterans from Rowan are going on Saturday’s last flight.