Coachella Valley veteran shares his Honor Flight journey ahead of Veterans Day

PALM DESERT, Calif. (KESQ) Coachella Valley veteran who recently took an Honor Flight to Washington, D.C., is sitting down with News Channel 3 to share the trip, just over a week before Veterans Day.

Honor Flight Network flies veterans to the nation’s capital free of charge to visit the memorials dedicated to their service. The nonprofit started in 2005, when six small planes carried 12 World War II veterans from Springfield, Ohio, to the then-new World War II Memorial. It has since grown to more than 125 independent hubs across the country and has flown more than 300,000 veterans, roughly 22,500 a year.

The trips are open to veterans who served during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War era, along with critically ill veterans of any era. Each veteran travels with a volunteer guardian, and the flights are paid for entirely through private donations.

Veterans Day is Wednesday, Nov. 11.