The Good Life Magazine – September-October 2023

“So, on a Friday afternoon, he asked one of the Veterans if
he could fly him to see his memorial, and the Veteran was
so moved, he began to cry. And it was really a privilege for
him to start flying these Veterans there. So, he did, every
weekend.”
Matejcek said Morse took his idea back to his Aero Club,
which had about 300 members, and began asking for
volunteers, but there was a catch, “they had to escort
the Veteran around D.C. and it couldn’t cost the Veteran
anything,” Matejcek said. By the end of the first year,
roughly, 137 Veterans took flight.
“There was another business owner, Jeff Miller, who
helped design the World War II monument,” Matejcek said.
“He heard what Earl was doing, so he started fundraising
to charter a commercial plane, and he called his Honor
Air. Then in 2006, the two joined and rebranded as the
Honor Flight Network.”
Flight Plans
The mission is anything but simple, however, Matejcek and
the Honor Flight team plan out every detail down to the
required color-coded duffels the Veterans carry. Veterans
who served in World War II, the Korean, and Vietnam
Wars, and those who are critically ill are added to the
waitlist. Matejcek said World War II Veterans always go
to the top of the list followed by the Korean War Veterans
and then those with dire health conditions. “We encourage
you to call if you’re on the list and your health has changed
because we want you to get there before you physically
can’t go,” Matejcek said. “If we get someone who may not
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