Land of Lincoln Honor Flight will be taking Mission # 77 on May 5, 2025 from Springfield Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport.
Mission #77 will serve 95 veterans – 5 Korean and 90 Vietnam era Era Veterans – from 54 Illinois home towns of Alton, Ashland, Athens, Bath, Benld, Bethalto, Bloomington, Carlinville, Cerro Gordo, Champaign, Chandlerville, Chatham, Chicago, Danville, Dawson, Decatur, Donnellson, Downs, Edwardsville, Effingham, Elgin, Elkhart, Glen Carbon, Granite City, Greenview, Greenville, Hillsboro, Hindsboro, Homer, Jacksonville, Lincoln, Loda, Mascoutah, Mattoon, Moro, Mount Auburn, Mount Olive, Mount Sterling, New Berlin, Newton, Normal, Pana, Pekin, Rochester, Sidney, Sigel, Spring Valley, Springfield, St Elmo, Sullivan, Taylorville, Trenton, Vandalia, Virginia as well as Aurora, Colorado; Clovis, California; Palm Coast, Florida; and Wilsonville, Colorado.
These Veterans and their Guardians will report May 5th to the Abraham Lincoln Capitol Airport at 4:00 AM to travel to Washington DC on a chartered Sun Country 737 aircraft to visit the World War II, Korean and Vietnam War Memorials, as well as Arlington National Cemetery Tomb of the Unknowns, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Air & Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia, the US Marine Corps Memorial and the US Air Force Memorial. This day of honor is provided at absolutely no cost to our veterans and is completely funded by donations from the general public.
These 95 heroes return to the Springfield airport at 9:30 PM on Tuesday May 5th. The general public, friends, family and LLHF alumni veterans are encouraged to pack the airport to welcome home these heroes. The welcome home at the airport is the experience our veterans earned and deserve – but never received. For many of these heroes, this is the first time they will experience a sincere and heartfelt welcome home. Greeters are encouraged to arrive early and show appreciation for and support of these veterans who sacrificed so much for our country. Parking is free and volunteers will be in the parking area to assist guests to open spaces. A shuttle bus is available to take guests directly to the airport terminal door.
Any veteran who served at any time up through May 7, 1975 is eligible to participate on an Honor Flight regardless of where they served or their assigned duties. Any seriously impaired or terminally ill WWII, Korean era or Vietnam era veteran will be given flight priority. Veteran and Guardian Applications may be obtained at www.LandofLincolnHonorFlight.org by clicking on “Applications” tab. LLHF also offers a “Flightless Honor Flight” program for those otherwise eligible veterans whose physical condition limits their ability to participate on an actual flight.
Land of Lincoln Honor Flight is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that receives no government funding. It is only able to honor veterans due to the generous donations, sponsorships, fundraising events, merchandise sales and supporting efforts of the many local businesses, individuals, and organizations within our service area. Land of Lincoln Honor Flight is operated by all volunteers; it has no paid staff, no rental, and no utilities costs. Its overall administrative cost is approximately 2% so virtually every dollar raised supports flight costs for veterans.
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