09-04-2025
Calling All Vietnam Vets: Your Time Is Now
It's almost time for North Country Honor Flight to fire up the jets. The program has been flying veterans from around the region to Washington, D.C. for over a decade. Since 2013, roughly 900 veterans have taken the free trip to visit the memorials at the nation's capital.
North Country Honor Flight's executive officer, Jerika Manning said, they fly from Plattsburgh, NY to Washington, D.C. to visit the Airforce Memorial, Marine Memorial, WWII Memorial, the Vietnam Wall and the changing of the guard.
The average WWII vet is just over 100-years-old. The average Korean War vet is mid-80s to early-90s. Manning said they are seeing less of those veterans as they get older. The next big group to focus on is the Vietnam War vets.
'When Honor Flight started, it was organized in a large part by Vietnam veterans who were serving the WWII veterans, and the Korean War veterans. They never thought it was their time,' said Manning.
'There never became a time where we really focused on asking the Vietnam veterans to apply and letting them know and reminding them that they have more than earned and deserve this trip, but that it's their time to start applying now.
One of those Veterans, Greg Lee, served in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. He said that's when the war took the most casualties. Lee signed up at just 16-years-old, after he said he lied to get in. That decision, according to Lee, is something he's never regretted. He said some veterans have a hard time dealing with the whole subject though.
'A lot of these guys, I know them personally. A lot of them feel that they don't deserve to go, for whatever reason,' said Lee. 'Some of it might have to do with the treatment we got when we came home. Vietnam veterans weren't very welcomed.'
Lee admitted he had avoided seeing the Vietnam Wall for several years. It wasn't until 2 years ago that his buddies at North Country Honor Flight made the decision for him.
'A lot of the folks in Honor Flight decided I was going, so I went. I wish I had done it 10 years before that,' said Lee. 'It was a healing process.'
Lee said anybody can visit the memorials, but the experience of going with a group of fellow Vietnam veterans is unlike anything else. He urges any and all Vietnam veterans to get an application, sign up and go.
'You'll be glad you did,' said Lee.
Applications are available at North Country Honor Flight's website here. Manning said there is plenty of room for any vet that wants to go. The entire trip, including food and drinks, is free. The first flight of the season is May 17, 2025.
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