25th High Plains Honor Flight takes veterans to Washington, D.C.

As High Plains Honor Flight went wheels up for its 25th expedition back to Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, plenty of people on board knew exactly what to expect.

Honor Flight President Matt Voris said there are volunteers going on their 15th-plus trip. Voris himself said he has lost track of how many he’s been on.

But for the 120 veterans on board, the next 36 hours will be like almost nothing they’ve ever experienced.

“We find the magic of Honor Flight is when 120 of them are together, they start chatting. They’re in like company with people who have experienced the same kind of things they did,” Voris said. “And by the time we get back here, it’s like the weight of the world is lifted off of them.”

Voris said many veterans — specifically combat veterans — return home from serving and bury most of what they experienced deep down, not even wanting to talk about it with their closest family. He’s noticed with those who have taken an honor flight, something loosens up inside them.

“We’ve had many, many families tell us after their veteran gets home from a trip, ‘Uncle Jimmy never talked about anything while he was overseas. And now since he took the trip, we can’t get him to shut up.’ ” Voris said. “It’s an awesome thing.”

The veterans started their 36-hour trip Sunday morning with the Escort of Heroes, which took them from the McKee 4-H Building at The Ranch Events Complex to the Northern Colorado Regional Airport. Thirteen veterans who served in Korea, 106 who served in Vietnam and one who served in both flew to Baltimore, where they were scheduled to attend a banquet in their honor. They will wake up Monday morning and head to D.C. to visit the World War II Memorial, Iwo Jima Marine Memorial, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Air Force Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial and Korean War Memorial and fly back. All before bedtime.

“We keep busy,” Voris said.

This year’s trip — named in honor of the late Col. William R. Suhre, an Army veteran and Greeley resident who was awarded a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and Silver Star for his heroics in Vietnam — will be the first without any World War II veterans.

Along with the natural fight against time, that is in big part because the group has grown that much closer to fulfilling the original goal of founder Stan Cass.

Cass, a 29-year-old Army veteran, founded the organization in 2008 as Northern Colorado Honor Flight with the goal of giving every Northern Colorado World War II veteran an opportunity to see the then newly established World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Voris took over in 2008, reviving the program and renaming it to High Plains Honor Flight.

“There are not very many World War II guys left from this area that have not previously been on one of our flights,” Voris said.

Before the trip officially kicked off, High Plains Honor Flight paid tribute to those who have passed since last year’s flight as well putting on a pair of musical performances at the McKee 4-H Building.

Local artist Fleeka performed her song, “Lovin A Hero,” about saying goodbye to a soldier about to deploy; and Richard Kerns, a veteran who went on an honor flight last year, performed his song, “Take to the Sky.”

The lyrics of the chorus —  which he wrote on the flight back last year after being inspired by the journey — read:

“Take to the sky, with honor they fly, serve those who served, take them higher than high.”

Veterans, with honor, took to the sky Sunday morning. And after a busy day-and-a-half, they will take to the sky again Monday evening and return home, hopefully, feeling higher than high.