Flights take WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. memorial for free

As Merritt King stood at the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C., last month, several thoughts ran through his head.

More than anything, he thought about the veterans who could not check out the memorial that honored them.

"Taking a look at those moldings and what they represent," the Geneva man said, " ... the number of guys that didn't make it, it's just unbelievable."

King worked as an engineer and his group searched for landmine maps once the Allies invaded France. He arrived on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, on June 9, 1944, three days after D-Day.

King, 89, visited the memorial June 25 on an Honor Flight Chicago trip.

Honor Flight Chicago is a local arm of the Ohio-based national program that takes World War II veterans to the memorial.

Honor Flight Chicago board member Read Boeckel showed a video promoting the trips Monday at the Geneva Senior Center.

When Boeckel saw a piece on the national program on "Good Morning America," he looked into bringing it to the Chicago area.

Veterans go free while guardians who want to go with their family members pay their own way. Boeckel said anyone who wants to go with a veteran should expect to spend about $350 for the flight.

If veterans do not have a guardian, the company will send one with them.

In March, at Honor Flight Chicago's first board meeting, the group was clueless how to proceed but they knew they wanted to get it started.

"We had no money, no flights," Boeckel said. "We didn't know what we were doing."

Since then, the program has taken off in part because of a favorable response from the community, he said.

Each flight costs Honor Flight Chicago about $25,000, and the group has sent two flights in June. Additional flights scheduled Aug. 20 and Sept. 17 are already full. Organizers hope to add a fifth flight in October but that will depend on donations, Boeckel said.

Donations usually come from widows and descendants of deceased veterans, he said.

"We have been overwhelmed at the generosity of so many people," Boeckel said.

The $197 million memorial sits between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. It opened April 29, 2004, after 11 years of planning and construction.

"Anybody who has a chance to go should go," King said. "They treat you like royalty."