Public is invited to attend welcome home ceremony at Central Wisconsin Airport

FOR THE TOMAHAWK LEADER

WAUSAU – Four Tomahawk area veterans will take part in the Never Forgotten Honor Flight’s 37^th trip to Washington, D.C., Monday, Sept. 2.

Donald Arneson, Navy, Vietnam era; Ronald Ewert, Air Force, Vietnam era; and John Graf, Army, Vietnam era, all of Tomahawk; and Thomas Gordon, of Irma, Air Force, Vietnam era, are among veterans who will participate in the trip. Veterans from Merrill, Minocqua, Prentice, Rhinelander, Rib Lake, Wausau and other central and northern Wisconsin communities comprise the flight’s roster.

The Never Forgotten Honor Flight (NFHF) organization, based in Wausau, will fly one World War II, six Korea and 100 Vietnam War-era veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials that honor their service in the organization’s 37^th flight. The first flight took place April 27, 2010.

The veterans will be accompanied by 61 guardians on the one-day round trip that departs Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee at 6:30 a.m. and is scheduled to return at approximately 10 p.m. The public is invited to the Central Wisconsin Airport to welcome the veterans home Monday night. Honor Flight officials recommend arriving no later than 8:30 p.m. Free parking for those welcoming the veterans home will be provided.

NFHF veteran alumni are encouraged to wear their NFHF-issued clothing (hat, shirt or windbreaker) for the welcome home ceremony.

After the Sept. 2 trip, the NFHF will have taken 3,466 veterans to Washington, D.C. in the past ten years.

Veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War eras are encouraged to submit an application as soon as possible. The only criteria for veterans to qualify for an Honor Flight is to have served during the years listed on the application and the NFHF website, regardless of where they served.

Veterans receive a free round-trip flight, and guardians pay $500 for the opportunity to accompany one or two veterans on the trip. Veterans and guardians interested in taking a future Honor Flight must complete an application at www.neverforgottenhonorflight.com or contact the organization at 715-573-8519. Completed applications for veterans and guardians also can be mailed to Never Forgotten Honor Flight, 4404 Rib Mountain Drive, #234, Wausau, WI 54401.

The veterans are selected based upon the order in which their applications are received and the conflict they served in. Preference is given to World War II veterans, followed by Korea, and finally Vietnam-era.

Veterans who are terminally ill, regardless of when they served in those three eras, are given top preference.

Guardians should be 18-69 years old and able to lend physical assistance to the veterans.

North Central Wisconsin’s NFHF is the nation’s 77th regional hub and one of five Wisconsin Honor Flight hubs. The Wausau-based organization was certified by the National Honor Flight Network office in Springfield, Ohio on Dec. 11, 2009.