Sunday 10pm Spring 2025 Honor Flight Report : Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight
ARLINGTON, Va. (WFXR) — Central and Southwest Virginia Honor Flight will execute Mission 10 April 4-6, 2025, taking two area veterans from World War II and seventeen from the Vietnam service era to Washington, D.C. at no cost to them. The trip will depart from the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia on Friday, April 4, 2025 at 10am and return to the D-Day Memorial on Sunday, April 6 at approximately noon. The hub will be bringing area veterans to the war memorials created in their honor and will be the journey of a lifetime for many who were never properly thanked for their service. The World War II Veterans traveling with us are both 100 years young. The Honor Flight Network began in 2005 to take World War II veterans to the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. at no cost to them. Since 2005, the network has escorted 317,128 Veterans to their memorials. Time is of the essence for our area WWII veterans. According to U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2024 statistics, just 66,143 of the 16.4 million Americans who served in World War II (.4%) are alive today. 2,121 of these are in Virginia.Each veteran is accompanied by a trained volunteer guardian whose mission is to assist the veteran in any way they can—by pushing wheelchairs, carrying belongings, or simply joining in a day full of celebration and reflection. While veterans' trip costs are paid for in full, guardians are asked to donate $400 to cover their trip costs. Guardian applications are screened and accepted on a first come first served basis. Honor Flight trips prioritize World War II and terminally ill veterans, with Korean and Vietnam service eras considered on a space available basis. Honor Flight trips are free of charge to the Veterans. To apply as a veteran or a guardian on future trips or for more information, visit www.cswvirginiahonorflight.org.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Summer travel trends: What is 'townsizing' & why is it popular?
Americans continue to prioritize travel this summer, even as prices rise. Priceline CEO Brett Keller joins Wealth to break down the trend of "townsizing" and where travelers are heading for better deals. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Wealth here.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Elbows-up tourism surge could see sector ‘eke out' a gain even as Americans stay away
From the front desk of Hotel Bedford in Goderich, Ont., Lynda Cross welcomes guests from regions ranging from southern Ontario to the South Pacific. 'A lot of them come from Toronto,' said the manager, standing just inside the Romanesque arches of the 129-year-old establishment. 'Just lately, we've had a few groups come from Australia' — a first, she said. But one crop of tourists has been conspicuously absent this year: Americans. 'May and June have been slow.' A groundswell of economic patriotism has stoked curiosity in Canadian destinations, fuelling a domestic bookings surge as travellers turn away from cross-border trips. But a drop in American visitors north of the border and fears that many Canadians will simply stay home to save money has many wondering whether homegrown and overseas tourism can make up for the stateside decline. Canadian vacationers' boycotting the U.S. could net this country's tourism sector up to $8.8 billion in extra business this year as travellers explore spots closer to home, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada. An April survey on travel intentions prompted the group to predict a windfall despite fewer border crossings this year by American tourists — Canada's largest source of inbound travellers by far. The number of Americans who visited Canada by car fell nearly 11 per cent in April compared with the same month last year, the third straight month of year-over-year decreases, according to Statistics Canada. While trip numbers for Canadians heading to the U.S. have fallen off far more steeply as part of a backlash against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and '51st state' threats, Americans' more moderate pullback owes to factors ranging from pinched pocketbooks to fears of feeling unwelcome to angst over the border crossing on the drive home. The American retreat could hit communities that hug the border especially hard. 'Border towns that have tended to experience the shorter, more frequent back-and-forth visits — those are going to be communities that are going to be more heavily affected,' said Andrew Siegwart, who heads the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Duty-free stores have seen their revenue drop by 60 to 80 per cent in the last few months, according to an association representing 32 of the mostly mom-and-pop shops. Whether overseas travellers can make up for much of the lower American traffic across the country is questionable. Visitor volume from China, previously a key source of tourists, sat at 40 per cent of 2019 levels last year amid ongoing restrictions on group travel to Canada, according to Destination Canada. The federal government imposed new visa requirements on Mexican visitors last year, making it harder for tourists from that country to come. 'Travel from India has also been down for a number of reasons. So it's going to take some time,' said Siegwart. However, many America-averse Canadians are spending their travel budget in their own backyards. More than half of respondents to a survey released Monday by Ontario's travel regulator said they were more likely to make excursions closer to home, with the trend holding across all age groups. 'It could be a year where we manage to stay on par with last year, or maybe even eke out a little bit of a gain,' said Siegwart. But he acknowledged the hurdle of consumer anxiety over the economy. 'I'm cautiously optimistic," he said, "but it's too early to tell.' Summer bookings were either the same or higher than last year at two out of three businesses surveyed by the association in a poll released last month. John Steele, who owns seven hotels in Newfoundland and Labrador and one in Fredericton, said visitor levels look 'pretty good' at most of his properties but softer in Gander. New direct flights to St. John's from London and Paris have made it easier for international travellers to come from away. 'Air access seems to be improving for us. That's a big thing for us,' Steele said. At Okanagan Wine Country Tours in British Columbia, bookings from Europe and the United Kingdom have risen about 20 per cent year-over-year, said partner and manager Marsha Morrish. 'The traffic from Quebec is up substantially,' she added. Americans are more tepid — even those who do head north. 'They did email me to do a bit of a temperature check on how Canadians were feeling about Americans visiting,' Morrish said, referring to a Colorado couple coming up to sample Pinot Gris. While there's a chance American tourist numbers could surge, it's unlikely to happen this year, Siegwart suggested — including for corporate gatherings. 'Some convention centres, both in Ontario and across the country, have seen some drops in American conference bookings.' Much of it has to do with personal safety and security, as some workers worry about how they'll be treated at the border. 'Depending on your immigration status, depending on if you're a member of an LGBTQIA community, if your gender markers or identities on your passports are different than your gender expression — all sorts of things like that are really coming into play,' Siegwart said. "My colleagues south of the border are a little more cautious in how they plan things because of the unpredictable way in which their administration is conducting business." On the flip side, there's more interest from corporate event planners in Europe 'who still want to come to North America but see Canada as a safer bet.' Some Americans remain undeterred though. 'I've seen way more people from the States this year,' said Wendy Mooney, owner of Country Hideaway RV Campground, which sits barely a kilometre from the border in the B.C.'s West Kootenay region. 'Some people just fly by the seat of their pants.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 9, 2025. Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Travelers Plan To Spend $4,600 On Vacations This Summer, Up 16% From 2024
This summer, 53% of Americans plan to take leisure summer vacations, up from 48% in 2024, according to a new report from Deloitte. Deloitte conducted two rounds of the survey, one in late March before President Donald Trump's new tariffs were announced, and one in mid-April after the tariffs were set. While plans in some areas remained the same, like how many trips Americans planned to take and how long those trips were going to be, the second round of surveys found that Americans were planning to spend less on their vacations in light of recession fears. Don't Miss: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — Maximize saving for your retirement and cut down on taxes: . Initially, the annual summer travel budget was expected to grow 21% year over year, to $4,967. In the second round, however, travelers said they only planned to spend $4,606 on vacations, up 13% from last year. Additionally, planned spending on marquee trips, those that are either bucket list items or intended to mark a specific occasion, shrank from $3,987 per trip to $3,417, just a 1% increase from last year. "We still see a strong summer travel season, but perhaps with a more frugal approach," Deloitte's transportation, hospitality and services sector leader, Kate Ferrara, told CNBC, Trending: Invest where it hurts — and help millions heal:. Those surveyed reported that they planned to alter trip length, in-destination spending, lodging type, and airfare class to make their trips more budget-friendly. For example, the average number of trips respondents have planned this summer is 3.1, but quick getaways of three nights or less comprise a large number of those planned vacations. In the same vein, 24% of travelers plan to stay with family or friends while on vacation, and 19% plan to drive to their destinations rather than take a flight. "The root of all of our hacks for saving this summer is flexibility," lead economist at travel site Hopper Hailey Berg told CNBC. Planned travel spending is also not equal across all income levels and generations, Deloitte found. Those who make over $100,000 now account for 49% of vacationers, up from 44% in 2024. Middle-income earners, who make between $50,000 and $100,000 each year, have shrunk from 37% of vacationers to 33%, while those who make under $50,000 have stayed largely the same, declining just 1% from 19% to 18%. Millennials and Gen Xers make up roughly the same share of summer travelers as last year, 29% and 24% respectively, while the number of Gen Zers has increased as boomers begin to slow down, according to the survey. Read Next: Wall Street's Missing This AI Surgical Tech — You Don't Have Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article Travelers Plan To Spend $4,600 On Vacations This Summer, Up 16% From 2024 originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio