FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, FLA. (WSVN) – A South Florida organization has to come up with an alternative plan to fly several U.S. veterans to the nation’s capital after Spirit Airlines went out of business.

Honor Flight South Florida is a volunteer organization that helps veterans across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Monroe Counties take a trip to Washington, D.C., to visit monuments and memorials built in their honor.

The next flight for veterans was scheduled to leave from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport through Spirit Airlines on May 30. Due to the airline’s shutdown, Honor Flight is now forced to adjust its plans.

Over the years, Honor Flight, along with Spirit Airlines, has helped send more than 2,000 veterans, including some who served during World War II and in Korea and Vietnam, to Washington, D.C.

“My dad has actually avoided going to Washington, D.C. since he served in the military, and it’s kind of been more of a dark part of his life,” said Blair Wallace, the daughter of a veteran.

Wallace’s father, Dan Gordon, served in the Vietnam War from 1966 to 1969.

“I just thought it was time to honor the veterans of Vietnam and give them the, you know, the honor and the grace that they deserve,” said Wallace.

Gordon and his brother-in-law, John Fisk, a fellow Vietnam veteran and Navy veteran, planned to take the Honor Flight on May 30. After learning that Spirit Airlines had ceased all operations, those plans are now in limbo, and the family was stunned.

“We were in shock,” said Wallace.

Ryan Paton, the co-founder of Honor Flight, said the airline had always been a strong supporter of their mission.

“Spirit’s been with us for about 12 years now I believe, and we did so much good in our community together that we were just always held out hope for them,” said Paton.

Volunteers for the organization had to break the news to veterans that their planned May 30 flight wasn’t happening.

“It’s like, they waited so long for this gift, and now we got to say, ‘You got to wait a little bit longer,’ so it’s – that’s the tough part of it, but we’re gonna make it up to them,” said Paton.

The unexpected setback stung many veterans who had been looking forward to the trip.

“My uncle John was really, really disheartened, you know, we’ve been waiting. We have submitted our information to Honor Flight over a year ago,” said Wallace. “They were emotionally ready to take that journey back in time to heal.”

As part of the trip, veterans would be treated to a police escort to the monuments and front-row seating during the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the National Cemetery.

Honor Flight hopes to have all those measures in place to bring the trip veterans deserve over the next few months.

When they do eventually make the trip, their emotional return to South Florida will now be carried out without Spirit Airlines, a former constant on the journey.

“They lost their jobs, and that’s the big picture of this, and we’re gonna be OK,” said Paton.

Honor Flight told 7News they’ve spoken with other airlines and are confident they can reschedule this trip for sometime over the next few months.

Honor Flight makes these trips happen at no cost to veterans, with assistance from public donations.

For those interested in making a donation to Honor Flight, you can visit their website here.

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President Donald Trump’s proposal to put a coat of white paint on the exterior of a 19th-century historic landmark building next to the White House is slated for a hearing Thursday by a key federal agency he expects to approve what would be a dramatic makeover.

The proposed painting of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building is one piece of a broader plan the Republican president has said will make Washington more beautiful.

Trump is making numerous changes inside and outside the White House and its grounds, most notably razing the East Wing to build a 1,000-person ballroom. Across the street from the mansion, Lafayette Park is closed for renovations that include getting the fountains working again.

The National Capital Planning Commission is scheduled to begin considering the plan on Thursday, according to its meeting agenda. Trump calls for painting all or most of the Eisenhower building’s gray granite exterior with white paint. He last year called the gray a “really bad color.”

Josh Fisher, a White House official, in April told the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts — a separate federal agency that also must approve the proposal — that the Trump administration prefers painting the entire building because the exterior is stained and in “great disrepair.”

The White House also presented an alternative proposal to paint most of the building in white while leaving the granite as is on the base.

Fisher said in April that experts consulted by the government could not guarantee that an exterior cleaning would improve the condition of the building.

But the proposal has alarmed preservationists, architects, historians and others who argue that granite is not meant to be painted and that paint would trap moisture, deteriorate the stone and not solve problems the administration wants to fix.

There’s also scant public support for the paint job.

Hundreds of pages of public comment submitted to the National Capital Planning Commission and available on the agency’s website were overwhelmingly against the plan on the grounds that the granite would be harmed by being painted and that problems would remain, at great expense to taxpayers. Others suggested improved landscaping, lighting and other steps to improve the building’s appearance.

Members of the Society of Architectural Historians sent a letter this week to Will Scharf, a top White House aide and chair of the planning commission, outlining why the project “will adversely and permanently alter this important part of American heritage and should be rejected.”

A report by the planning commission’s staff recommends that commissioners support cleaning the building but said more information is needed to evaluate the proposals to paint the exterior.

Staff also recommends asking the White House to provide information about the type of paint to be used, including where it has been successfully used on exterior granite facades in other projects. It also recommends the White House summarize other ways to achieve the goal, including cleaning the building and/or lighting.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A lawsuit against the proposed paint job is working its way through federal court.

The Eisenhower building sits across a driveway from the West Wing, and its granite, slate and cast iron exterior makes it one of America’s best examples of the French Second Empire style of architecture. It was the original home for the State, War and Navy departments, and it currently houses ceremonial offices for the vice president and offices for the second lady, the National Security Council and other White House components.

At its April meeting, the fine arts commission directed White House officials to return at a future date to present more information, including the results of paint testing.

Law enforcement officers from across North Carolina made a stop in downtown New Bern as part of a multi-day bicycle ride to Washington, D.C.

The riders are part of the Police Unity Tour, an annual event that brings together officers from cities including Charlotte, Durham and Greenville. Participants are cycling hundreds of miles to take part in National Police Week.

The ride is held to honor officers who have died in the line of duty, with each mile dedicated to their memory.

“It is just as much mental as it is physical. We just take it one leg at a time,” said Maj. Brian Harrison of the Durham Police Department. “It’s the stops like this where we get to honor our brothers and sisters in blue that have fallen in the line of duty. They just make it worth it.”

The group will continue traveling north over the next several days, with their journey ending in Washington, D.C., at the National Law Enforcement Memorial.