Great River Honor Flight Mission 74 to depart from Hannibal-LaGrange University on Thursday

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Great River Honor Flight’s sixth and final mission of 2024 will take place on Thursday, Oct. 10, leaving from Hannibal-LaGrange University.

Thirty-two veterans will take part on this trip. One served in Korea and 23 served during the Vietnam. They represent Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Army National Guard.

This will be the 74th mission for local veterans since the program started in 2010. To date, 2,347 local veterans who served in WWII, Korea, Vietnam and between those conflicts have participated in this program. The mission on Oct. 10 will increase that number to 2,379.

The veterans on this flight come from Illinois (Adams, McDonough, Hancock, Pike and St. Clair counties), Missouri (Marion, Pike, Schuyler, Adair, and Audrain counties) and Iowa (Lee, Des Moines, Cedar and Henry counties), plus one veteran from Texas.

The veterans served in a number of roles — aircraft mechanic, platoon commander, infantry, heavy equipment operator, supply, a NATO Iron Curtain Task Force member and a husband-wife team who were medics.

The trip an itinerary that has been successful during the past 15 years. It includes a 2:30 a.m. departure, a full day of visiting memorials in Washington, D.C., and a return to Hannibal at approximately 10:15 p.m.

Great River Honor Flight, a Missouri nonprofit corporation, was chartered on Veterans Day 2009 with its first flight scheduled on April 13, 2010. The goal remains to honor the total number of local veterans who served the United States with a free trip to Washington, D.C.

Mission 74 participants