08/21/2026
Great River Honor Flight Announces Second Mission
To Fly Directly from Quincy to DC
The Great River Honor Flight Board of Directors proudly announces that the 83rd mission will be held on August 20, 2026. This will be the second mission that will depart from Quincy Regional Airport and fly directly to Washington, DC. Veterans will fly out of Quincy on a Contour Airlines Jet to Dulles International Airport in DC. A total of 17 veterans will take part in this trip. Of them, 15 served during the Vietnam era and the remaining 2 served between or after those conflicts. They represent Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Navy Reserves. This will bring the total number of veterans who have been part of the Honor Flight experience to over 2,644 since its start in 2010.
The veterans on this flight come from Missouri (St. Charles County), Illinois (Adams, McDonough, Fulton and Pike Counties), and Iowa (Marion, Des Moines, and Lee Counties). The veterans served in a number of roles among them food service, navigation and operations for submarines and surface ships, medic, mechanic, radio operator and infantry among others to showcase the variety of key roles that are part of our Nation’s Armed Forces. A list of the veterans and their hometowns is included at the end of this News Release.
“Following the success of the first trip out of Quincy Regional back in May, the Honor Flight Board continues to explore new ways to handle the logistics for future missions and improve the experience for our veterans”, said Carlos Fernandez, Chairman of Great River Honor Flight.
The August 20th trip’s itinerary will follow the itinerary that has been so successful over the past 17 years while also making the best use of the veterans’ extended time in DC thanks to the direct flight out of Quincy. The itinerary includes starting out at John Wood’s Cafeteria prior to a 6:00AM departure from Quincy Regional to Dulles. In DC they will visit the Vietnam Wall, Korea Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, Air Force Memorial, and also observe first-hand the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. That will follow with a drive by the Capitol, down Pennsylvania Avenue and a stop at the Navy Memorial. The veterans will then head back to Dulles for their return flight to Quincy. The expected arrival time back at Quincy Regional Airport will be around 8:45PM. Once there they will bus to JWCC’s Basketball Arena for an official welcome home.
Great River Honor Flight was chartered on Veterans Day 2009 with its first flight scheduled on April 13, 2010. Our goal remains to honor the total number of local veterans who served our country with a FREE trip to Washington DC.
To date Great River Honor Flight, the Tri-States’ hub of the Honor Flight program has flown 2,627 local Veterans to Washington D.C. since it was established in 2009. This trip will increase that total to 2,644. Great River Honor Flight, a Missouri Nonprofit Corporation established in October of 2009, was created solely to honor America’s veterans that live in our area for all they have sacrificed by providing, free of charge, transportation to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices.
For additional information or interview, contact
Carlos Fernandez at
[email protected] or
Great River Honor Flight
PO Box 3723
Quincy, Illinois 62305
