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Honor Flight, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization created solely to honor America’s Veterans. Their mission is simple: “We fly our heroes to Washington DC to visit and reflect together at their memorials.”  Honor Flight first flew in May 2005.

The Rochester hub was formed in June of 2008 and flew 10 WWII vets and 10 guardians to Washington in October of 2008. Since that shake down flight, we have significantly increased our capacity; as of November 1, 2009, we've flown 270 of our Humble Heroes to DC to see their Memorial. These vets got to stand, once again, shoulder to shoulder with the service men & women who shared the hardships and sacrifice it took to win that epic war 65 years ago. They got to see the Memorial built to honor their efforts and the sacrifices of the 400,000 US service men and women who never came home from the war. 

”People often comment on trying to find the fountain of youth.  It's really quite easy, really.....go on a trip with 50-55 men in the age range of about 84-95 and watch them re-bond one last time and suddenly become 40 and 50 years younger.  It's quite a sight to behold.  An Honor Flight trip is NOT a trip, nor is it a vacation.  It's nothing short of a miraculous pilgrimage to see the sights and sounds and to watch the memories, good and bad, unfold for those who served so bravely in such an awful war, even to see the poisons and toxins from 65 years ago finally released.”  Steve Rapp, Honor Flight volunteer.

It costs about $450 to send each vet to DC on our flights, and every cent of this comes from donations from the Rochester area. Honor Flight accepts no government funding, nor partisan political sponsorships. We seek the support of individuals, corporate partners and foundations, even as we develop funding partnerships with VFW and American Legion Posts, fraternal business groups, scouts, churches and synagogues.  Special curriculum guidance is being developed with schools, where veterans routinely visit history or social studies classrooms. It would be nice if we had ten years to get all of our WWII vets down to their Memorial, but the reality is we're losing more than 1,200 WWII vets every day. If we don't get most of these vets to their Memorial over the next two to three years, many of them will never make it, as the youngest WWII vets are currently 82 years old. Top priority is given to our most senior veterans – WWII survivors – along with any veteran who may be terminally ill. A majority of WWII veterans had already passed away by 2004 when a memorial to their heroism was completed on the Mall in Washington D.C.

Honor Flight Rochester, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity.  All private donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.  We welcome your active participation in our cause.  Donations may be mailed to:

Honor Flight Rochester, Inc.

P.O. Box 23581

Rochester, NY 14692

For more information, visit honorflightrochester.org

“Thank you for your help with this critically urgent effort to let these heroes walk in the warm glow of history as they witness the Memorial built to honor them.”  Jeff Gould