Fresno veterans head to Washington for Honor Flight tribute

Dozens of Valley veterans boarded the 34th Central Valley Honor Flight with one of Fresno County’s most moving reminders of time and service: Norris Jernigan, 100, was the oldest veteran on the mission. The trip carried 69 veterans and their guardians from Fresno to Washington, D.C., where they were scheduled to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Memorial and the World War II Memorial.

The three-day flight, scheduled for April 20-22, 2026, was designed to give local veterans a direct connection to the monuments built in their honor. For many older veterans, the visit comes decades after they came home from war, often without the public recognition that now follows them through the Honor Flight program. The Washington itinerary also included Arlington National Cemetery, adding a solemn stop to a trip built around remembrance.

Central Valley Honor Flight, an official hub of the Honor Flight Network, says its mission is to send veterans to Washington at no cost so they can visit their memorials. The nonprofit began in October 2013 and says it had sent more than 1,800 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veterans and their guardians on 27 trips. A later local report said the group had transported more than 2,200 veterans over 12 years.

The trip’s return to Fresno Yosemite International Airport was expected to draw a crowd around 6 p.m. Wednesday for the organization’s traditional “Welcome Home” procession, hosted by Paul Loeffler, co-founder of Central Valley Honor Flight. The public was invited, turning the airport into a place of recognition for families, supporters and neighbors who wanted to greet the veterans in person.

Central Valley Honor Flight says each trip costs roughly $1,500 per veteran and is paid for entirely through donations from more than 1,000 individuals, small businesses and service clubs stretching from Modesto to Porterville. That local funding is what makes the airport send-off and return ceremony possible, and why the 34th flight landed not just as a travel milestone but as a public act of gratitude for Fresno-area veterans whose service still commands attention.