Honor Flight To Head From Hudson Valley To DC

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Hudson Valley Honor Flight is about to take off again. Mission 31 is scheduled for Saturday.

There will be a total of 85 veterans on this flight. Of them, one is a World War II veteran, nine are Korean War veterans; seven are Cold War veterans; three are Cold War/Vietnam veterans and 65 are Vietnam veterans. All but four are New York residents.

Here is a breakdown of the New York veterans by county:

• Orange - 34
• Dutchess - 23
• Rockland - 2
• Sullivan - 5
• Ulster - 12
• Putnam - 4

New York Stewart International Airport is at 1180 1st St. in New Windsor. If you want to join the 6:30 a.m. pre-flight send-off, arrive early. The welcome home rally is at 8:30 p.m.

Hudson Valley Honor Flight flies veterans free of charge on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Washington, D.C., where they are transported around the district by bus to visit war memorials, attend a dinner in their honor and then return home. Each veteran is escorted by a personal guardian and the HVHF flight team for the day-long trip. The organizers have been doing it since 2014.

All veterans who have not yet participated in an Honor Flight are encouraged to apply. No matter your veteran's role during their service, all war veterans are eligible.

"We have two planes to fill with deserving veterans — we are anxiously seeking local veterans to take part in the Honor Flight experience with us," HVHF Executive Director Jennifer DeFrancesco told Patch in May at the welcome home rally for Mission 30. "If you are a veteran from the Hudson Valley area, or know one that would like to participate, we want to hear from you."