WWII veteran Dennis Dunlap is celebrating  his 100^th birthday with a parade. His local community at Heritage Hunt Homeowners’ Association is calling for all cars, bicycles, and walkers to parade in his honor on Wednesday, March 24 at 12:15 PM. The parade will line up on Arthur Hills Drive near the Clubhouse at 6901 Arthur Hills Drive, Gainesville, VA 20155. Mr. Dunlap and his family will be on Walnut Hill Drive. 

Local volunteers, spread the word!

Trip Suspension Extension.  Due to continued uncertainty with regard to COVID and COVID-related issues, the Board has extended the Honor Flight travel suspension through August 15, 2021.  The HFN staff and Board are continuing to monitor developments in vaccine distribution and relevant restrictions in the DC area. The Board will continue to meet monthly (the next meeting is April 28) to monitor the situation.

Thank you for your continued support.

 In an effort to bring the national Honor Flight community together as we stay safe at home during COVID, the national office is co-hosting what we hope is the first of several live web events.

On March 9, 2021 the Honor Flight Network will co-host a live web event with our sponsor AARP.  The event will take place at 7 p.m. EST in an effort to make it comfortable for those in all time zones to attend.  Dave Smith, member of the Honor Flight Network Board of Directors and Founder of the San Diego Honor Flight Hub, will open the event with a greeting from the Honor Flight Network.

The event is open to everyone within our wonderful community – veterans who have already participated in an Honor Flight, veterans who hope to experience an Honor Flight, guardians, hub leaders, hub volunteers, airport volunteers, and everyone’s friends and family.  We hope this event and the others to follow will build upon the positive engagement so many of the hubs are already employing to keep folks excited about Honor Flight.

You can find more information and sign up for the event using the registration link below.  Please feel free to distribute the link and the attached information widely – the more the merrier!

Registration link:  https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=938D8869-BF59-4DF1-A459-2098D3A4F24F

The Board has determined to suspend all Honor Flight related travel through April 30, 2021.  This decision was based upon many factors including, but not limited to the following:

1. Current CDC guidelines and information regarding the timing considerations of the federal rollout of possible vaccines;
2. Washington, D.C. is currently requiring all visitors to D.C. to have (and be able to present proof of) a negative COVID test done within 72 hours prior to arrival in D.C. (this is in addition to current group gathering restrictions that continue to be in place in D.C., Maryland and Virginia); and
3. The National Park Service is not currently issuing group gathering permits and there is no indication when NPS will resume permitting for group gatherings.

10/31/2020

Beginning this weekend, the Honor Flight Network will begin a special social media campaign leading up to Veterans Day.  HFN worked with celebrities and high-profile individuals to bring video messages to the 23,000 veterans who were not able to experience his or her Honor Flight this year due to COVID-19.  HFN will post the video messages from Sunday, November 1 through Tuesday, November 10 on our Honor Flight Network Facebook page and via our Twitter account @HonorFlightNet – we encourage you to “like and share” the posts spreading the Honor Flight cheer and appreciation to all of our veterans.   As a special treat, on November 11, Veterans Day, HFN will post a link to a special compilation video that can be “liked and shared” but can also be emailed directly to your veterans who were unable to fly this year. 

The national Honor Flight Board is meeting regularly and will provide updates to inform Honor Flight hubs and volunteers. Check back regularly!

The National Board has extended the suspension of all Honor Flight travel through the remainder of calendar year 2020.  This decision was not made lightly. We’d like to share a note from Meredith Rosenbeck, CEO, from the national office: “The safety of our veterans has always been and will continue to be the number one priority of the Honor Flight Network.  Our veterans are among the most vulnerable of the population as it relates to serious complications and death from COVID-19 and, as a result of this, it is just not prudent for Honor Flight to risk the health and safety of those we seek to honor at this juncture. The national staff will continue to be available to assist Hubs in any way we can or answer any questions you may have.  We look forward to resuming flights with you all again in 2021.”

Due to cautionary measures around COVID-19, all Honor Flights have been canceled through August 31. Information about otherwise scheduled Honor Flights (beyond August 31) will be updated here. Thank you for your continued support.

A note from the National Honor Flight Board

HFN Flight Suspension Extension:  Based on current federal and state guidelines, the HFN mandatory flight suspension has been extended through June 30.  Currently, Maryland’s stay home order is “indefinite” in duration and Virginia’s stay home order runs through at least June 10.  Also, Arlington National Cemetery remains closed to the public and there is no date certain upon which ANC will reopen to the public and/or resume public viewing of the changing of the guard.  We are continuing to monitor the federal and DC area orders very closely and will keep you all updated.  The Honor Flight Board will meet again on May 13^th to further discuss this matter and determine if any further suspensions are necessary under the circumstances at that time.

Stay safe!