Honor Flight of Greater Lafayette will hold a press conference Aug. 4 with Lafayette Mayor Tony Roswarski and state Sen. Ron Alting to formally announce a $75,000 donation from GE Aerospace, board member Kevin Bol told the Frankfort Rotary Club this week, as the nonprofit finalizes plans for its 28th flight carrying area veterans to Washington, D.C.
The gift, along with 14 guardian applications from GE Aerospace employees, comes as the nonprofit prepares to fly roughly 85 World War II, Korean and Vietnam veterans out of Purdue Airport on Sept. 15 — free to the veterans — for a day touring national memorials before returning that evening to a public welcome-home celebration.
A Mission Nearly Two Decades in the Making
Bol, a commercial real estate broker in Lafayette for 43 years, has served on the Honor Flight board since 2014 and was its president from 2019 to 2022. He told the group the national Honor Flight program began in 2005, when Ohio volunteers flew a handful of World War II veterans to see their memorial in Washington.
The program has since flown “over 250,000 veterans” nationwide, Bol said, noting Indiana now has four hubs — Lafayette, Indianapolis, Evansville and Fort Wayne. The Lafayette hub alone is “pushing 2,300 veterans that have gone with us,” he said.
Every veteran flies at no cost, while guardians pay a $500 fee to help cover expenses, Bol said. Spouses and significant others are not permitted to serve as guardians, a policy set early in the program’s history because older spouses often could not keep up with the trip’s physical demands. Guardians must be able to push a wheelchair “all day long” and assist with tasks ranging from luggage to restroom breaks, he said.
GE Aerospace Donation, VA Leader’s Backing
Bol said the GE Aerospace gift will help offset guardian costs for the September flight, which he said has only three open veteran slots remaining as of this week. He also credited Jake Adams, the newly appointed director of the Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs and a Carroll County native, with lending his support after flying as a guardian last year. “Now he’s going on all of our flights,” Bol said, either as a guardian or to talk with veterans about available services.
A separate corporate donor has also offered to fund an entire future flight, Bol said, though details are still being finalized.
Marine Group From 1967 to Mark 60th Anniversary
Bol said a special contingent may join next year’s flight: a group of 64 men from Indiana who enlisted together in the Marine Corps in 1967 under a program known as the Hoosier Platoon. Six died in Vietnam and 14 came home with Purple Hearts, according to a woman whose late husband served in the group and contacted Bol about a future flight. “She’s got 14 signed up,” Bol said, adding organizers expect 20 to 25 platoon members to fly together for the group’s 60th anniversary. The hub typically limits flights to four or five veterans from the same unit, Bol said, “but next year we’re gonna make an exception.”
Community Invited to Welcome Heroes Home
Organizers are asking area residents to attend “Operation Home Coming” at Purdue Airport on the evening of Sept. 15, when the flight is set to return around 7:30 p.m. Bol said crowds of 400 to 500 people typically greet returning veterans with flags, signs and applause — even in bad weather. “The last flight our numbers were down a little bit, but it was pouring down rain and … somebody estimated 350 people in the rain standing there to greet our veterans,” he said.
Veteran and guardian applications are available at honorflightlafayette.com or through the organization’s Facebook page, Honor Flight Greater Lafayette Community. Eligible veterans include those who served during World War II, the Korean War or Vietnam, including those on active duty prior to 1975.
“It’s really about saying thank you,” Bol told the group, “or welcome home.”
