Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois completed the 15th Honor Flight from Marion, Illinois earlier this month. Since its inception in 2016, Veterans Honor Flight has honored over 1,200 veterans from Southern Illinois and the surrounding communities, but the group isn't done yet. "We have over 350 Veterans waiting for their turn on Honor Flight," chairman Bryan Questelle said. "We won't stop until every Veteran in Southern Illinois has been honored the way they deserve." To that point, the group announced two missions for 2026. Mission 16 will fly on Monday, May 18, 2026. Mission 17 will fly on Monday, September 14, 2026. Each mission is expected to carry at least 85 Veterans. Veterans are selected for Honor Flight based on age, with the oldest Veterans being chosen first. All [...Read more]

Where will you be at 5pm on Tuesday, Sept 16th? Hopefully at the Veterans Airport of Southern Illinois to welcome home our Veterans from their day in Washington DC. Event organizers have been working most of the year on the Welcome Home event and want to invite everyone to come out and enjoy the festivities. “The community support for the previous Honor Flight Welcome Home events has been overwhelming!” stated Deborah Hogg, Welcome Home organizer. “There is no better way to celebrate our Veterans and honor them then by giving them a Hero’s Welcome Home.” The 10-member Welcome Home Committee meets monthly to plan the event which is expected to unite the community in honoring our Veterans. The Flight #15 Welcome Home Celebration will be held outside in front of the air [...Read more]

Veterans Honor Flight of Southern Illinois has achieved a new record of 98.9% donation efficiency. Completely donation funded, Veterans Honor Flight and the Board of Directors have continuously worked to ensure the maximum amount of donated funds goes directly to the Veterans being honored on each Mission. In 2017, the first year of operation, Veterans Honor Flight achieved 98.5% efficiency, meaning 98.5 cents for every dollar donated was spent on direct Mission costs. Veterans Honor Flight does not employ anyone, nor is anyone affiliated with the organization paid or compensated in any way. Every member of the board, staff, flight team, welcome home committee, and other various teams are volunteers. "We have amazing volunteers," Chairman of the Board Bryan Questelle said. "We could [...Read more]