The Good Life Magazine – September-October 2023

ON THE COVER | VETERANS HONOR FLIGHT
Veterans Honor Flight
Commemorating the Great
WRITTEN BY: HILLARY W. SORENSON
PHOTOS BY: URBAN TOAD MEDIA
Jane Matejcek has spent the last 32 years working as a
nurse at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Fargo,
North Dakota, and has devoted nearly the past two decades
to commemorating Veterans’ service through her work
with Veterans Honor Flight of North Dakota/Minnesota.
As president of the non-profit organization, Matejcek,
along with a board of nine others work vigorously to
connect with Veterans throughout North Dakota and
Minnesota, and fly them to Washington, D.C., to visit the
memorials erected in their honor.
The Honor Flight Network is a nationwide non-profit
with 129 independent regional hubs across the United
States that provide Veterans the resources necessary
to make the trek to D.C. There are currently only five
states that do not have a regional hub, however, the Lone
Eagle Honor Flight ensures all Veterans regardless of
their geographical limitations are able to participate by
purchasing them a plane ticket and connecting them with
the Honor Flight Network.
As of 2023, Honor Flight of North Dakota/Minnesota has
taken 1,976 Veterans to the Washington Memorials and
has another trip planned for October with an additional
100 Veterans. Matejcek said there are 683 on the waitlist
for future flights.
The Beginning of a Nationwide Mission
In May of 2005, Earl Morse, a physician assistant
at a Veterans’ clinic in Ohio, began flying patients to
Washington to see their memorials. “He was a pilot
himself,” Matejcek said.
18 | THE GOOD LIFE