When we loaded the Old Glory Honor Flight veterans and guardians on their plane this evening, we closed out the 2022 Honor Flight season. Many, many thanks to the hundreds and hundreds of greeters who came to Dulles Airport in the morning and evening from April until November. You were there in the cold and the heat, the sun and the rain to welcome our Nation’s heroes for their day of honor in the Nation’s Capital. Could we have done this without you? Probably … but the veterans would have missed all the cheers, clapping, and flag waving. They would have missed their fellow veterans and active duty personnel. But most importantly, they wouldn’t have seen the smiling faces of the individuals, the families, school children, musicians, service teams, corporate teams, and everyone else who made each arrival and departure special — just for them.

Of course, none of this would have happened without the support of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. The management team at Dulles Airport is at the heart of the support to all the Honor Flights that come to Dulles. We thank all the folks who assisted us — the Operations team, parking operations, mobile lounge, TSA Special Services, the police, and everyone else who made each event successful in spite of glitches that periodically occurred.

The Honor Flight at Dulles team thanks each and every one of you for taking the time out of your busy day to come to the airport for them. We hope to see you all again when we start the 2023 season in April.

As we take a little breather until the next Honor Flights on October 3rd, let us all take a moment to reflect on today — the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. It was a horrible day in many aspects even though it started out as a normal workday with crystal blue skies above. The lose of life in New York City, at the Pentagon, and in Shanksville, PA was tremendous and totally unexpected by the American public. As bad as that day was, it re-ignited the patriotic spirit of America. People bonded together as neighbors and as countrymen. Flags flew on building and houses like never before and quickly sold out in stores.

Today, as on every day that we greet our veterans at Dulles Airport, take a moment to think about those before us who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives whether on a battlefield or an innocent victim. Their lives were cut short and we shouldn’t forget them. We should also make sure that our children understand — and respect — those sacrifices.

Many thanks to the over 200 people who came out to greet our veterans from Fort Dodge, Iowa yesterday. You certainly made them feel welcome and special as they walked to their waiting buses. A special thanks to the 50 people who came to see them off in the evening. One veteran told me “It was certainly a noisy sendoff!”

If you haven’t already signed up to join your fellow greeters for future flights, visit the 2022 Fall Signups page. Our next flight is on 5 September when the Never Forgotten Honor Flight arrives from Wausau, WI.

We have also added a new flight on Wednesday, 9 November, when the Old Glory Honor Flight from Appleton, WI will be here for their day of honor.

If you have signed up to greet the arrival or the departure of the veterans on any Flight this spring, you will receive a note from iadcoordinator@honorflight.org with instructions between 48 and 24 hours before the event.

THE IMPORTANT PART OF THIS MESSAGE — BEFORE YOU LEAVE HOME, YOU WILL HAVE TO PRINT OUT A PLACARD TO PLACE ON YOUR CAR DASHBOARD. The lot where we will be parking — for free — is patrolled by the airport police. WITHOUT A PLACARD ON YOUR DASHBOARD, you risk getting ticketed or towed.

A map with directions will be included in that email.

Hello greeters!

The National Honor Flight Network has come to our aid with a new email system. It will shrink our current sending time from 5 days to instantaneous. Thanks National!!

However, you will now see messages coming to you from a new email address …

iadcoordinator@honorflight.org

You might see the first email arrive in your trash or junk mail folder in the next day or two. Please look for the email and flag it as “not junk”. Our old heroeswelcomeiad@gmail.com address will remain active for a while but please start responding to the new address.

Thanks for your patience as we go through this transition.

It has come to our attention that some of the Honor Flight hubs have had problems with people posing as members of the hub soliciting funds which never get to the hub. This is yet another form of scamming. Please be aware that no one from the Honor Flight of Dulles team ever solicits funds for our operation. We are not a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and, as such, cannot solicit funds. If any person calls or emails you requesting funds, DO NOT GIVE! If you have any information about the requestor, contact your local police department.

We are taking a few moments to thank two of our heavy-hitting volunteers — Jennifer Jamison and Dave Benbennick.

Jennifer joined the Ground Crew in 2012 and has been the backbone behind our e-mail, website, and Facebook efforts, even after moving to Roanoke several years ago. All of those e-mail notices, sign-up lists, informational posts, and other communications that you receive have come via Jennifer. While her profession is not in the IT world, she self-taught the procedures for WordPress, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Facebook, and other tools necessary to keep us all informed. At times, it has been total chaos for her because of the complicated nature of the tools we use to keep you informed. She has performed all this effort while not being able to see the veterans she serves because of her distance from Dulles. Due to job demands and caring for her family, Jennifer has decided to step away from this role. We owe her many thanks for all of her efforts!

Dave has been known as OxygenMan to all of the Honor Flight hubs that come to Dulles and Reagan National airports. Since June of 2008, any veteran who needed oxygen during their visit to their memorials and for the flight home has had the support of Dave. He worked with the hubs to identify what type of oxygen supply was needed, handled the pickup and return of the bottles and concentrators, and ensured that no veteran missed his Day of Honor because oxygen was not available. He has put thousands of miles on his car, donated hundreds of hours of his time, and periodically purchased ice and water for the buses. For all of his efforts, we and all of the veterans he has served salute him!