Honor Flight to Help Korean War Veterans, Too

Editor's note: The following information was taken from a press release provided by Stars and Stripes Honor Flight.

Stars and Stripes Honor Flight is transitioning its mission in 2013 to also fly Korean War veterans to see their memorials in Washington, DC.  

"These Korean War veterans are often known as the 'forgotten ones from the forgotten war.' Well, they are forgotten no longer," said Joe Dean, Chairman of Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. 

According to Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs, there are currently 40,000 Korean War era veterans living in Wisconsin. (There are 27,000 WWII veterans living in the state.)

Thanks to overwhelming community support, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will be able to continue flying veterans once all WWII veterans from southeastern Wisconsin who want to go have had their Honor Flight. Right now, the wait list for WWII veterans is back up to 150. Two spring dates have been set for Saturday April 27 and June 8. It's possible that Korean War veterans could fly as early as the June 8 flight. Korean War veterans interested in taking an Honor Flight should fill out the application found at the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight website under the "Applications" tab.

Honor Flight documentary now available on DVD

You can also support Stars and Stripes Honor Flight through the purchase of a limited edition DVD of the documentary film Honor Flight.The movie will be sold in limited quantities in advance of it's nationwide retail DVD release this May.

The DVD is available for purchase online only now through March 10. Click here for ordering information. The DVD sells for just $19.99 and will ship March 15.

Thanks to the generous support of We Energies for underwriting the production costs of the DVD, the purchase of each DVD goes even further in supporting the mission of SSHF to fly as many veterans as possible to Washington, DC.

• Related: Thousands Show Up for Honor Flight's Big Screen Premiere

The film Honor Flight, which the Los Angeles Times calls "enormously moving," and the  Chicago Tribune says is "a profound tribute to America's brave, often unsung WWII veterans" is still playingin theaters nationwide in more than 20 markets with new screenings added weekly. It's on track to becoming the largest "audience driven" screening of all time. 

The film features four Milwaukee area World War II veterans and the local volunteers of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight chapter.  Honor Flight hubs across the country are using the film to raise awareness about the program and raise funds to fly veterans from their communities.

Honor Flight also holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film screening ever when it premiered at Miller Park on August 11, 2012 for a crowd of 28,442.There have also been screenings at other unique locations including the US Capitol, Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall, the Navy Memorial and was the featured film at the Naples Film Festival. To date, nearly 53,000 people have seen the film.

Honor Flight is a national, all-volunteer program with 117 hubs from coast to coast.  The WWII Memorial did not open until 2004 and many veterans are unable to visit it without assistance.  According to the VA, a WWII veteran dies every 90 seconds in the US. The average age of a WWII veteran is 89 years old. Nationally, Honor Flight has taken 100,000 veterans to see their memorials.  

Track the latest news from the film's website: HonorFlightTheMovie.com.