Honor Flight Chicago’s 107th Flight — carrying our 10,000th veteran to Washington, D.C., — was at the end of the runway yesterday morning, ready to depart for our nation’s capital. That’s when a developing weather situation hit critical mass, and a Chicago-area ground stop forced us into a delay that ultimately led to the postponement of our first flight of 2023.
Thank you to everyone who made our season-opening flight #HFC107 possible. We checked in 111 veterans and loaded the plane in record time. As the delay stretched into hours, we made the difficult decision to postpone the flight until next month. We want to ensure that our heroes experience the day they DESERVE, and not a shortened version of it.
We want to specifically thank our partners at Southwest Airlines and Midway International Airport for the love and respect they showed our heroes as we returned to the gate and deplaned.
These 111 veterans WILL receive their full Day of Honor as soon as they are available to fly. Most of them will fly in May on our next scheduled flight.
Despite the unfortunate delay, we still experienced a significant moment of Honor Flight Chicago magic. Scroll down for video of a surprise reunion 63 years in the making!
“Well, things didn’t go quite as planned this morning. As we waited on the runway, we were all in good humor and many nice conversations took place. I learned how genuinely dedicated the Honor Flight Chicago volunteers are. I HONOR and thank all of you.”
Korean War Veteran Ed Cook
“I’ve Been Looking For This Guy Since 1960!”
Vietnam Veterans Rogelio Arredondo and Dante Plata grew up going to church together. In 1960, the families went their separate ways. 63 years later, Plata was browsing the #HFC107 Veteran Summary during check in and immediately recognized Rogelio’s photo. Our volunteers wasted no time facilitating a reunion.
