By Iacopo Luzi

Honor Flight Chicago is a non-profit that organizes trips to Washington D.C. war memorials for WWII and Korean War veterans. Thanks to Honor Flight‘s efforts, more than six thousand vets have flown from Chicago Midway Airport to the nation’s capital since 2008.

These flights give many veterans the first opportunity of their lives to visit the memorials and be honored for their service to the country.

Thanks to the hard work of volunteers, the group organizes flights once a month from the beginning of spring to the end of October. The flights are free for the veterans. They’re given the chance to meet old friends and remember those who didn’t make it back home.

Mary Pettinato, Honor Flight CEO, says, “It’s a way to thank them for all they did for us”.