Great River Honor Flight Mission No. 72 scheduled for Thursday will take veteran count over 2,300

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Great River Honor Flight’s fourth mission of 2024, No. 72, will take place on Thursday, Aug. 15.

The departure and return of the mission will be from the campus of Hannibal-LaGrange University. The trip will follow the itinerary of the past 15 years. It starts with a 2:30 a.m. departure for a bus ride to Lambert International Airport in St. Louis. A charter bus will bring them back to the HLGU basketball arena for a homecoming at approximately 10:15 p.m.

Thirty-one veterans will take part in this trip. Of them, five served in Korea and 21 served during the Vietnam era. They represent the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Army National Guard.

Since the program’s inception in 2010, 2,287 local veterans who served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam and between have previously participated in this program

The 31 veterans on this flight come from Adams County in Illinois; Marion, Lewis, Ralls, Lincoln, Audrain, Shelby and St. Charles counties in Missouri; and Des Moines County in Iowa.  The veterans served in a number of roles, among them communications, aviation mechanic, supply specialist, welder/fabricator, cook and a door gunner who took part in 154 rescue attempts of POWs.

The remaining missions planned for 2024 are:

• No. 73 – Thursday, Sept. 12, from John Wood Community College
• No. 74 – Thursday, Oct. 10, from Hannibal LaGrange University

The veterans participating in Thursday’s trip are:

 AFV stands for Armed Forces Veteran and represents someone who served in between or after major conflicts.