After a two-year-plus hiatus because of the COVID pandemic, Quad Cities, Muscatine and Clinton Hy-Vee will sponsor their 12th Honor Flight of the Quad Cities. This is the 53rd Honor Flight that has flown out of Quad Cities International Airport, Moline.
“We’re very excited to once again be able to honor and thank our veterans for their service and their sacrifice,” Hy-Vee spokeswoman Debbie Geisler said Tuesday at a check presentation at Hy-Vee offices in Davenport.
The $50,000 donation will send approximately 100 local Vietnam veterans to Washington, D.C., on May 24. They will spend the day touring the memorials in their honor and return home the same night.
To date, Quad Cities, Clinton and Muscatine Hy-Vee stores have donated over $600,000 for Honor Flights, Geisler said. In addition, the stores will host a unique pre-flight dinner for the vets, May 19 at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf.
“It’s for the veterans, their guardians and a guest, and it’s a good opportunity for the veterans and the guardians to get to know each other a little better before they fly out to D.C.,” she said. “This also gives our employees a chance to personally let the veterans know how much we appreciate them.
“We’d like to thank the community, past sponsors and all our employees that have helped make these flights possible and special for the veterans,” Geisler said, singling out the Honor Flight QC board of directors.
“It takes a lot of hard work, a lot of hours to put these flights together, and we are really proud to be associated with this program,” she said.
“We are thrilled beyond measure at Hy-Vee supporting us and sponsoring this 12th trip,” said Steve Garrington of Davenport, hub director for Honor Flight of the Quad Cities. “It’s so wonderful; we really appreciate it. It shows how much Hy-Vee values the community and especially our veterans in the community.”
Many store employees will come as guardians on the May flight (guardians must pay their own way).
“It’s amazing what a special day this is for our veterans,” Garrington said. “We’ve had veterans who’ve passed away and the families have asked us to come to their funeral. We’ve seen them being buried in their Honor Flight shirt or jacket. That shows how special this day was.”
He implored local vets who have not been on a flight to submit an application.
“We want your applications. If you were in the service – any service – Vietnam, Korea, or World War II especially, go ahead and fill out an application,” Garrington said. “Right now, we do not have one single World War II veteran on our list. We’ve taken every veteran we know of in the Quad Cities.”
Vets from anywhere can get a free trip
Honor Flight will take vets no matter where they come from, he said, noting one from California went (whose kids live in the QC). Typically, they live within a 70-miles radius of the QC.
The 52nd Honor Flight just went a week ago, April 12, and there were no WWII vets on that one, Garrington said. The last WWII vets to go were in 2019.
There are between 90 and 100 veterans on each flight, and they average four per year – two in the spring and two in the fall.
While other major sponsors have paid for more than one Honor Flight, no others have done close to 12, as Hy-Vee is. Garrington has been on more than 20 flights.
He’s an Army veteran from the early ‘80s, and was in the in Army Reserves over 20 years.
Last Hy-Vee flight in 2019
The last Honor Flight that Hy-Vee sponsored was September 2019, Geisler said. She expects 15 employees to be guardians (among 60 to go on the flight). She has been a guardian for eight flights.
“It is such a special day,” Garrington (a retired Davenport school teacher) said. “Some of the people get to know their veterans, invite them home for Thanksgiving, or Christmas. You see a lot of bonding.”
Geisler’s father (who’s since died), brother and husband were all veterans. Her father (a Korean War paratrooper) went on a 2017 Honor Flight. Her brother is a Vietnam vet and doesn’t want to go on Honor Flight.
“He’s one of those veterans that to this day, he doesn’t talk about it, doesn’t want to go on a flight,” she said.
Veterans often “open up more to a stranger than to a family member,” Garrington said. “To really break out, you need a stranger with you. It really is a special thing, ‘cause a stranger isn’t gonna say – I heard that 20 times already, grandpa. It’s all new for them. All your stories are brand new. You can tell them all again.”
A life-changing experience
Geisler is working on her brother. Her first Honor Flight vet to accompany was a 96-year-old WWII vet (in 2010, the first time Hy-Vee sponsored). When they got to the World War II Memorial in D.C., he broke down crying, she said.
“After that, he talked and talked,” Geisler said. “Two weeks later, I talked to the daughter about how wonderful the experience was, and she invited me to their house for Christmas. When he passed away, they invited me to his funeral and wanted me to speak. In his obituary, they said the highlight of the second half of his life was Honor Flight.”
Geisler’s younger brother (not the vet) accompanied their father on Honor Flight, which also was very special.
“We certainly would not be able to do this without their support; it is fantastic,” Garrington said of Hy-Vee.
“We cannot not do this,” Geisler said of sponsoring a flight every year.
The return of every Honor Flight at the QC Airport draws over 500 people to welcome the group home, usually with signs, balloons and flags, Garrington said.
“Lots of times, it’s local folks who want to say thank you and welcome home,” he said. “There’s a lot of hugging and kissing going on.”
To apply for Honor Flight as a veteran or guardian, click HERE.
