Rescheduled flight slated for Sept. 7

FOR THE TOMAHAWK LEADER

WISCONSIN – The Never Forgotten Honor Flight slated to depart from central Wisconsin for Washington, D.C., on April 20, 2020, was postponed due to the increasing number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases around the country and Center for Disease Control (CDC) warnings about the seriousness of the virus, a letter from Honor Flight President and Co-Founder Mike Thompson said.

According to the letter, Honor Flight leadership and Board of Honor Flight Network held an emergency meeting regarding the spread of coronavirus on March 10.

“In consideration of the CDC’s guidance and the serious nature of the public health threat posed by COVID-19, the national Board is issuing a mandatory suspension of all Honor Flight trips effective immediately through at least April 30, 2020,” Thompson stated in the March 11 letter. “The national Board will continue to monitor CDC guidance over the coming weeks to determine if the mandatory suspension of Honor Flight travel will be extended further.”

“This is an unprecedented and challenging time because of the uncertainties and risks associated with COVID-19,” Thompson said. “We are particularly concerned about the susceptibility of our elderly veterans to infectious diseases. Many veterans who make Honor Flight trips have serious, chronic medical conditions like heart disease, diabetes, COPD or lung disease that leave them even more vulnerable to COVID-19. In addition, many of these veterans live in community settings, such as a retirement home or assisted living facility, where the risk of spread is extremely high. While we realize that many veterans feel a sense of urgency to make a trip to their memorials before it is too late to do so, we simply cannot allow travel under the present circumstances.”

The April 20 flight has been rescheduled for Sept. 7, 2020. Veterans will receive a revised packet of information sometime in August.

“Sorry for any inconvenience that this may cause, but again, your safety is our first concern,” Thompson said.