Local veteran groups are hosting a fundraiser to cover costs for a 2025 Honor Flight to bring elderly veterans to Washington, D.C., to tour war memorials created in honor of their service and sacrifice.
Last April, U.S. Air Force veteran Joe Deacon was an honored guest on the Inland Northwest Honor Flight, which flew 90 veterans and 50 guardians to Washington, D.C. For two days, they toured our nation’s capital and visited war memorials, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial where the names of 58,318 Americans who gave their lives in service to their country are engraved on black granite. The memorial has become known as The Wall and the website Wall of Faces was created to honor and remember every person whose name is inscribed on the memorial.
When The Wall was dedicated on Veterans Day in 1982 at Washington National Cathedral, it included a 56-hour reading of all the engraved names of the fallen. Deacon recalls seeing homeless veterans sleeping on the park grounds during construction of the memorial. Today, visitors can be seen using pencil and paper to transfer their loved one’s name onto a memento to take home, while countless flower bouquets, dog tags, letters, and photos are left at the memorial every year.
“Seeing the war memorials up close was an incredible honor,” shared Deacon, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1963, along with his two older brothers. He explained how both his brothers served in Vietnam, while he was stationed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, because the military would not send every member of the same family into a combat zone. “The Wall was a poignant, emotional experience that brought a sense of closure to their time in Vietnam,” reflected Deacon about touring the memorials with his brothers who joined him on the Honor Flight last April. “They have friends on that wall.”
“They came home okay, but there was not a warm reception on their return from Vietnam,” he stated. The Honor Flight tries to correct this national disgrace by greeting the veterans in Washington, D.C., providing guardians to assist during the travel and tour, and arranging a grand reception upon their return. “There were probably a thousand people, little kids, a band, and other veterans who greeted us in Spokane when we came back. Many veterans had tears at the airport reception, it was an extremely emotional experience.” The Deacon brothers are now 80, 82, and 83 years old.
The Honor Flight program has a special feature unique to each veteran. When they are greeted in Washington, D.C., each are presented with an envelope full of “letters from home” authored by family, friends, and American students. The letters penned by their grand-children and great-grand-children are especially cherished.
Another part of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a bronze statue known as The Three Servicemen, which depicts three young armed soldiers wearing jungle combat gear gazing at The Wall.
The Inland Northwest Honor Flight was founded in May 2009 and has been operating flights twice a year, until this year. The October 2024 flight was canceled due to lack of funds. It costs around $200,000 per flight to keep these trips cost-free for elderly patriots and war veterans, and previous flights have mostly been paid for by businesses located in Spokane, Washington.
North Idaho is home to over 20,000 veterans, and Deacon is one of many who is working to keep the cost-free honorary flight to Washington, D.C. available to elderly wartime veterans. This endeavor has brought several local veteran organizations together to host a fundraiser to cover the cost of an Honor Flight in 2025.
“We owe Inland Northwest Honor Flight not only a big thanks, but a responsibility to help ensure future Vets can make this historic trip to the U.S. Capital to visit the memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices,” stated Deacon in a letter to fellow Honor Flight veterans.
The Big Band Honor Flight fundraising event has been scheduled at the Coeur d’Alene Eagles Club at 209 Sherman Avenue on November 8, 2024. The event features the Coeur d’Alene Big Band, an 18-piece band that plays music from past eras. “There will be dancing, real dancing,” said Deacon with a smile. Complimentary hors d’oeuvres will be served and a no-host bar will be available.
Individual tickets are $50, but seating is limited to the first 150 and tickets must be purchased by October 31. There are no online ticket sales. Tickets can be purchased at the Eagles bar, or interested parties can mail a check to INW Honor Flight, PO Box 1024, Hayden, Idaho, 83835-9998.
Local businesses have the opportunity to sponsor the 2025 Honor Flight at three sponsorship levels. Anyone interested in more information on sponsoring should contact the event coordinator VFW Auxiliary President Joe Deacon by email at jsphdeacon@gmail.com or by phone at 707-806-4299. Sponsors will be honored in the local press and at the November 8 fundraiser.
According to the INW Honor Flight website, the vast majority of veterans traveling with them are Vietnam War veterans and applications are on a first come, first served basis; although applications from the remaining World War II and Korean War veterans are also accepted and veterans facing terminal illness will be given priority.
