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his was another year unlike any other and we hope that you and your loved ones remain healthy and are doing well.

When the pandemic came upon us in 2020, we were forced to cancel our entire flight season and many activities that would have brought us together to celebrate our veterans.  It was a disappointment for all of us who make it our mission to honor and thank our senior war heroes, but we quickly adapted and put our energy and resources towards building new ways to recognize the men and women who have served our country.

This year, that momentum continued, and we doubled down on our efforts. We delivered signs of gratitude to thousands of veterans and volunteers. We formalized our “Mission Never Forget” program to celebrate our veterans’ important milestones. We also made great progress with our “Operation Education” initiative, which is becoming one of our most successful ways to inspire younger generations and teach them the importance of service and the power of showing gratitude.

Honor Flight Chicago is best known for our flights though, and after 22 months, we were able to once again thank our senior war veterans with the trip of a lifetime to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials built in their honor and receive a day of appreciation and respect.

Flying safely in an environment where the virus is still very present is no small endeavor and one that we certainly did not take lightly. Getting flight #96 off the ground safely and in a way that we could be proud of took more planning, time, and investment than possibly any other flight in our history.  The determination paid off and the thoughtfulness and hard work of our volunteers made it so we could successfully give 112 senior veterans their much-deserved day of tribute and camaraderie.

We also didn’t just use the old playbook either. We chartered a larger plane with 20% more seats and added a bus to our caravan, allowing us to fly more veterans than before and better address our growing waitlist.  Perhaps most significantly, we were the first Honor Flight hub in the country to take to the skies again. We blazed our own path back to our nation’s capital.

One Vietnam veteran – who also is an HFC volunteer – commented after the flight that “I was one of the chosen few to fly on this first Honor Flight, and after almost two years, I can tell you if anyone lost any skills it sure did not show.”

We are proud of all that was accomplished this past year and are so excited about all that is planned in the months to come. We have so much to be thankful for! Thank you to our volunteers, thank you to our supporters, and most importantly, thank you to our veterans.

Honor Flight Chicago’s Operation Education helps students understand the conflicts where American soldiers served, develop an appreciation for a veteran’s service and sacrifice, and implement ways to support the mission of Honor Flight Chicago. 

Following its creation just two years ago, Operation Education now partners with more than 60 local schools. These schools work with our organization to interact with community veterans, host virtual assemblies, sponsor fundraisers, support our Mail Call initiative and look to Operation Education as a resource for their classrooms.

There are countless ways schools can become involved with Operation Education, and no two ways have to be the same. Some schools developed new curriculum and classes, others have written letters of thanks to veterans, and still others have taken advantage of our video library featuring more than 50 veteran interviews.  

We pride ourselves on working with schools to help determine how we can best support their goals while also expressing gratitude toward our senior war heroes. Operation Education offers a unique resource for educators and an invaluable forum for sharing ideas. We offer a quarterly newsletter and will continue to update the dedicated website with new resources.

Honor Flight Chicago’s Operation Education website features a content calendar with detailed, veteran-related information that educators and parents can incorporate into lesson plans throughout the year.