Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Honor Flight to fly Korean War veterans; company sponsors Honor Flight DVD production

Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is transitioning its mission in 2013 to fly Korean War veterans to see their memorial in Washington, D.C.

"These Korean War veterans are often known as the 'forgotten ones from the forgotten war.' Well, they are forgotten no longer," said Joe Dean, chairman of Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.

According to Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, 40,000 Korean War-era veterans live in Wisconsin.

Stars and Stripes Honor Flight continues to fly WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. The wait list for WWII veterans is 150. Flights are scheduled for April 27 and June 8. Korean War veterans could fly as early as the June 8 flight.

Korean War veterans interested in taking an Honor Flight should fill out the application found at the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight website under the ‘Applications’ tab.

Stars and Stripes Honor Flight also announced a limited-edition DVD of the documentary film Honor Flight. We Energies is underwriting the production and packaging. The movie will be sold in limited quantities in advance of its nationwide retail release this May. The DVD is available for purchase online now through March 10 only. Ordering information is available online. The DVD is $19.99 and ships March 15.

“Thanks to the generous support of We Energies for underwriting the production costs of the DVD, the purchase of each DVD goes even further in supporting the mission of Honor Flight to fly as many veterans as possible to Washington, D.C.,” said Dean.

Honor Flight, the film, features four Milwaukee-area World War II veterans and the local volunteers of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight chapter. Honor Flight hubs across the country are using the film to heighten awareness of the program and raise funds to fly veterans to Washington, D.C., from their communities.

Honor Flight also holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film screening ever when it premiered at Miller Park on Aug. 11, 2012, for a crowd of 28,442. The event was sponsored by the Wisconsin Energy Foundation, a long-time supporter of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.