Sauk Valley veterans lift off on Honor Flights, share memories of military experience

DIXON – From the World War II, Lincoln and Korean War memorials to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities gives Sauk Valley-area veterans the opportunity to go to the nation’s capital to see memorial sites and remember fallen comrades.

The program honors veterans by pairing them with volunteer guardians for a daylong trip to Washington, D.C., where they can share personal experiences and make lifelong connections with other veterans.

The Whiteside County chapter was established in 2009, followed by the Lee County chapter in 2010. Both are part of the Honor Flight of the Quad Cities, which operates as a regional hub among 131 hubs spread across 45 states and serves veterans within a 75-mile radius.

Whiteside County Honor Flight Chairman Mike Terveer said the trip begins around 5 a.m. with a charter bus to the Quad Cities International Airport in Moline and an early flight to Washington. Once they land, veterans will visit several monuments, including the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and others, before returning at 10 p.m.

“You leave early in the morning and don’t get back till late,” Terveer said. “It makes for a long day but it’s touching and worthwhile.”

Guardians provide veterans with companionship and assist them in any way possible. Despite having to pay $400 to cover their costs, guardians consider the opportunity to serve an honor, Hub Director Steve Garrington said.

“I’ve had some guardians sign up for multiple flights,” Garrington said. “I love seeing veterans and their guardians meet for the first time. Most of these guys are getting up there in age and rarely get the opportunity to make a new friend. When was the last time someone spent their whole day focused on you?”

Terveer said he can always use the extra help and encourages people to sign up for a chance to be a guardian, promising “a day they’ll never forget.”

U.S. Army veteran Pete Barajas still remembers the day of his honor flight.

“They bent over backward for us,” Barajas said. “My wife and daughter dropped me off at the airport and I was whisked away to D.C. I remember people searching the wall monuments for names and making impressions of them with paper. It was an emotional day that was worth every minute.”

Each year, the Honor Flight Network sends 22,500 veterans to the nation’s capital free of charge, with more than 300,000 veterans flown since the program was created in 2005 by Jeff Miller and Earl Morse. Initially, the program focused on veterans from World War II and those with a terminal illness, but flights now include Korean War-era veterans as a top priority due to their advanced age.

“I had a 97-year-old vet from Sterling on a flight in April,” Terveer said. “He was a spry gentleman, and it worked out fine, but these guys are getting up there in age, and you don’t know how much longer they got.”