Vice President of Honor Flight Fayette, Mark Buckner, spoke recently to Peachtree City American Legion Post 50 regarding the foundation's scheduled May 14th trip to the nation's capitol, which will be a free day trip for the WWII veterans who are going on the flight.

However, so many veterans have signed up that some will be placed on a list for the next flight, which organizers hope to plan for next fall.

It has been determined that it will take $50,000 to make the first flight, and so far only about $14,000 has been raised toward this cause. But Buckner and Gail Sparrow, President of HFF, believe that the citizens and businesses of this county will come through and help make this dream a reality for the deserving men and women of WWII who helped preserve the freedoms we have today.

Honor Flight Fayette is a grass roots project, and everyone involved is a volunteer whose sole interest is saying "thank you" to the veterans. It is a labor of love, dedication and determination for them to see that this project is a success so that more flights can be scheduled, as we are losing WWII veterans at the rate of 1,200 to 1,500 per day in this country.

Obviously, time is of the essence and critical to those veterans wishing to make the trip and who have expressed surprise and excitement about being taken to see their memorial, which was completed almost 60 years after the end of the war. And we must ask ourselves, "at what cost did they secure my freedom and how can I repay them?”

Honor Flight Fayette is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a board of directors to guide the effort and keep it on track.

If you would like to know more about HFF, be a guardian or volunteer, or wish to make a donation please check honorflightfayette.org or call 770-719-1024.

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