In the predawn hours of April 13, 2022, 116 senior war veterans arrived at Midway International Airport to experience a day of Honor, Thanks, and Inspiration meant as a grand gesture of gratitude from a grateful nation. The life-changing trip would not only celebrate these heroes, but the more than 9,100 who came before and the thousands still waiting for their Day of Honor.

The 30th episode of our moving and meaningful Honor. Thank. Inspire. podcast spotlights Luis Rodriguez, a Purple Heart veteran of the Vietnam War. His deeply personal descriptions of the conditions of battle bring all of the rawness of the jungle home, and make the story of his actual homecoming all the more heart wrenching.

Charles Nichols served as a United States Marine in Vietnam. When his tour of duty was complete, he returned home to Chicago and immediately found himself in another fight against rabid war protestors. Deciding it was safer to return to battle, Nichols volunteered for a second tour.

Dr. David Grauer, DDS, joined the Navy late in WWII thanks to the urging of his father. After not seeing combat, he felt his military experience was not worthy of inclusion on an Honor Flight Chicago mission.

Jon Lapo had a rough-and-tumble upbringing in the Madison and Central neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. Looking for direction, he enlisted in the Army and soon found himself in Vietnam as a demolition man and — for a time — as a tunnel rat.

In the absolute chaos that was Omaha Beach on D-Day, 20-year-old Ray Wagner found himself twice thrown into the water before scrambling onto the sand, death and destruction all around.

On October 6, 2021, our long-awaited Operation HerStory All-Female Veteran Flight took off bound for Washington, D.C., with 93 senior heroes aboard. Come along for the ride and hear the sounds and experiences of the day through the eyes of several of the women veterans who took part in this historic mission!

WWII Army Air Corps First Lieutenant Alvin Goodman, Jr., flew 11 successful missions as a B-24 Bomber pilot before, while serving as co-pilot on his 12th, he was hit by flak and knocked out cold in the cockpit.

Retired Army Colonel Constance Love Edwards was a nurse in Vietnam during the Vietnam War, where she treated casualties coming in from the field while facing challenges related not only to gender, but race as well.

Kenny Hirata spent many of his teenage years in an Japanese-American internment camp in Arizona during WWII. After resettling in the Midwest, Hirata served his country in the infantry during the Korean War.

On August 18, 2021, Honor Flight Chicago returned to Washington, D.C., with a plane full of 112 senior war veterans. It was the first honor flight nationwide since the start of the pandemic and the first for HFC in 22 months.

After a 22-month pause in flying, Honor Flight Chicago is excited to return to the skies with its 96th flight in August of 2021. The resumption of flights to Washington, D.C., brings with it new protocols and a more urgent approach to our mission.