Jamestown fundraiser raises $10,600 for Veterans Honor Flight trips

Kurt Andersen accepted a $10,600 check in Jamestown as the Patriotic Council’s March 29 fundraiser gave Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN another boost for the free trips it arranges to Washington, D.C. for veterans from Stutsman County and nearby communities.

The money matters because every Honor Flight seat is paid for by donations, not government funding. Veterans Honor Flight of ND/MN says it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and a 100% volunteer organization that flies eligible veterans to visit the memorials built in their honor, with top priority given to World War II and Korean War veterans, along with terminally ill veterans. Eligible Vietnam War veterans also take part.

The trips happen in the spring and fall, depending on fundraising, and veterans are selected on a first-to-apply, first-to-fly basis. The group says all veterans fly free. Stutsman County is listed among the North Dakota counties served by the ND/MN hub, while western North Dakota is now covered by Western ND Honor Flight.

The Jamestown fundraiser also marked National Vietnam War Veterans Day, tying the local effort to the generation of veterans many Honor Flight supporters are still trying to honor in person. The national Honor Flight Network says its hubs are independent nonprofits and that the program has brought more than 300,000 veterans to Washington, D.C. since 2005.

Interest remains strong across North Dakota and Minnesota. KFGO says the ND/MN hub has sent more than 1,778 veterans to Washington, D.C., and local coverage says the organization added a fifth flight to help work through a waitlist of 900 people. For veterans in Stutsman County, the donation helps keep those flights within reach, one seat at a time.