Confidence is critical for Honor Flight

A beloved patriotic program needs a lift.

And it’s got to come from within.

When this newspaper dug into a complaint alleging an Honor Flight recipient wasn’t an honorably discharged military veteran, Press staff learned something alarming: There is no requirement or procedure to vet the vets.

In other words, because the national Honor Flight program leaves it up to local chapters to verify that recipients served in the military, the responsibility falls firmly on local shoulders. And if nobody’s checking? Then donors can’t be certain their generous contributions are always assisting the men and women who earned the gift of an all-expense paid trip to the nation’s capital.

Let’s be very clear: Nobody is alleging fraud. The Press has no evidence of wrongdoing or even negligence. But there’s a hole in the fabric of trust that must be stitched up, and it’s got to be done at the local level. With roughly half a million dollars coming into the local program in a given year, donor confidence is imperative.

One solution would be a simple verification process that could be done by a volunteer. Applicants to the program would need to provide a copy of their DD214. That’s the Department of Defense certificate of release or discharge from active duty. It’s issued whenever someone retires, separates or is discharged from active duty. It would contain any verification needed.

Contrary to what might be a general assumption, Honor Flight recipients needn’t have seen action. Although the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the focal points of these trips, service during the Vietnam War isn’t a requirement, either. The idea is to match veterans as closely as possible to the war or conflict of their time in service, “with honor and closure.”

Honor Flight was founded in 2005. It’s our hope that it remains airborne for as long as we have veterans.