Sept. 22—FARGO — For the first time in the nearly 18-year history of Honor Flight in Fargo-Moorhead, veterans are seeing double.
On Sunday morning, the ND/MN Veterans Honor Flight sent two separate aircraft, nicknamed Alpha and Bravo, in a “Double Honor Flight” from Hector International Airport to the nation’s capital.
Each plane carried between 100 and 110 veterans, making a total of 215.
Until now, only one aircraft has flown on each Honor Flight from Fargo.
In September 2007, the WDAY WWII Honor Flight, the predecessor to ND/MN’s Veterans Honor Flight, transported approximately 215 veterans in a single 747 and did so again in November 2007. However, this is the first time in the local project’s history that more than 200 veterans have participated in two separate flights from the same city in one day.
Jane Matejcek, president of the Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN, said the decision to double the number of travelers was practical and would benefit veterans.
“Because of the weather in North Dakota and Washington, D.C., we are limited to a six- to eight-week flight window each spring and fall, which makes it difficult to do more than two flights per year,” she said. “With almost 900 people on our waiting list, some had to wait four years for their trip, which we found unacceptable. The only way to fix this was to do more than one flight at a time.”
So that’s what they did.
But not before they had to split their team of volunteers into two flights and recruit extra hands to help out.
Today all hands were on deck to welcome the travelers at Hector International, including police officers, sheriff’s deputies, motorcycle club members and bagpipers.
Jennifer Seesz of Alexandria gave her father Louie a big hug before he walked into the airport.
“This is a wonderful experience for my father!” she said.
“She signed me up for this two and a half years ago. It was a big surprise. An amazing experience!” Louie added.
(Alexandria Echo Press reporter Celeste Edenloff is on the Honor Flight
(and will be sharing stories about veterans from the Alexandria area and more in the coming days.)
The 215 veterans on the two flights are male and female veterans, 193 Vietnam veterans, 22 Korean War veterans and one WWII veteran. They are accompanied by volunteers, medical personnel and family members.
Over the next two and a half days, they will visit sites in Washington and be thanked and recognized for their service. The trip is free for the veterans thanks to community support and donations coordinated through the Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN.
Among the Vietnam veterans are three friends from Detroit Lakes: Dave Knopf, Dave Ohman and Curt Erickson. After serving in the Vietnam era, they spent the next 25 to 35 years together in the Minnesota National Guard.
Knopf, who was on the waiting list for more than two years, is grateful to be part of the historic “Double Honor Flight.”
“That’s fun! The ability to go is what I like the most. I was hoping to get the flight from Grand Forks or Fargo, and being able to do it with my buddies is more fun!” he said.
To accommodate the large group, the veterans will tour DC in eight color-coded buses instead of the usual four.
Matejeck said the groups will only be together during their Sunday night banquet.
Veteran Craig Tande of Aneta, North Dakota, will attend the banquet with his son Christopher, who is accompanying him on the trip.
He said he is grateful for the hard work of the many volunteers who made the trip possible.
“It’s awesome!” he said. “It’s amazing when they can do something like that for the veterans. It’s just terribly kind!
The groups will fly home on Tuesday evening, one hour apart. The first plane, Alpha, is scheduled to arrive at 18:00, and the second plane, Bravo, should arrive at 19:00.
As with every Honor Flight, the committee invites people to come to the airport for a welcome party. They ask that you arrive between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. and urge you to remember that parking can be difficult due to construction at the airport.
Parking is available at the Pepsi Soccer Complex west of the airport. Three 28-seat buses will take people to the airport free of charge.
Signs are being placed for the Honor Flight parking lot.
For more updates on arrival times and more, visit
Facebook page in honor of the ND/MN veterans flight
.
