Vietnam veteran Colgan honored to open hangar for Freedom Honor Flight vets

Vets leave early Saturday morning and return late that night 

Area veterans will head to Washington D.C., at 6 a.m. Saturday, in the second Freedom Honor Flight of the year.

The honor flights have been going on for a decade now, taking vets to the nation’s capital for a whirlwind visit to war memorials.

Veterans and their guardians will return around 10 p.m. Saturday to the Colgan Air hangar, where Vietnam veteran Tim Colgan is happy to provide the space for that gathering.

“To see those guys go on the flights … and come back and we have fireworks and bands and they’re crying and they’re thrilled,” Colgan said. “It’s the most wonderful thing we can do for our veterans and I hope it keeps going for a long, long time.”

The majority of vets on the flights now are from the Korean War, with a small number of World War II vets. About 100 veterans travel on each flight. The La Crosse group organizes a spring trip and a fall trip every year.

Any local veteran in the area can register online to get on the Honor Flight waiting list here or call 608.784.1015.

Below is a list of counties for eligible veterans. Otherwise, click here to see if there are honor flights in your area.

Nearly 2,000 vets have taken the local flights since they began in 2008.

VETERANS ELIGIBLE FOR LA CROSSE FREEDOM HONOR FLIGHTS FROM BELOW COUNTIES:

WISCONSIN COUNTIES
CRAWFORD
VERNON
LA CROSSE
MONROE
JUNEAU
ADAMS
BUFFALO
TREMPEALEAU
JACKSON
PIERCE
PEPIN
ST. CROIX
DUNN
CHIPPEWA
EAU CLAIRE
CLARK

MINNESOTA COUNTIES
DODGE
FILLMORE
HOUSTON
MOWER
OLMSTED
WABASHA
WINONA

IOWA COUNTIES
WINNESHIEK
ALLAMAKEE