Honor Flight San Diego

In just one week, our local WWII U.S. Army 101st Airborne Paratrooper Tom Rice will be joining his military brothers in Xenia, OH for a special event. A Taccoa Original, Jim Pee Wee Martin WWII Paratrooper of the 101st Airborne 506th PIR, will be turning 100 years young and in true Airborne style, there will be D-Day aircraft and jump operations for two days to celebrate in his hometown. The finale will be a huge fireworks display to celebrate his birthday. There will be si...x WWII 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Screaming Eagles at the reunion to help their brother ring in 100! The event is hosted by W and R VETS and CJ Machado. There are several ways you can support the event by purchasing challenge coin or patch, or attending the event. To see more about the event, go to: https://wandrvets.org/

It's #MilitaryMonday and what's more military than the GI Film Festival San Diego! Imagine six full days of documentary films, dramas, period pieces, and comedic shorts. There's 38 films from local, national, and international filmmakers and something for everyone! Since the 2021 festival is a virtual experience, it means that vaccinated or not, you’ll be able to participate in all the festival has to offer. The virtual festival runs May 18-23 and tickets are already on sale...! The box office is now open for single tickets or multi-ticket packs for online showtimes or video-on-demand rentals. Catch all 38 films plus the awards celebration with the All Access Pass. Order by May 9 and also receive the festival fun box, complete with commemorative festival T-shirt, printed program, popcorn, and swag from our partners and sponsors. To see this year's lineup, go to: https://gifilmfestivalsd.org/2021/ Here's just a short promo of the festival: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wofFEXWs3wA Please share with your networks! #GIFFSD #GIFilmFestival

Big thank you to Diane Bell from The San Diego Union-Tribune for reporting on this story. On this #ThankfulThursday we sure are glad that Dave Smith stood up our San Diego hub 11 years ago! #GreatestGeneration #WWII #ForgottenWar ... https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com//column-san-diego-exe

Last Monday was National Vietnam War Veterans Day and our friends at Veterans Association of North County and Hospice of the North Coast are hosting a special event for our Vietnam Veterans this Saturday. Please note that you must register to attend. #VietnamWar ... https://hospicenorthcoast.org/vietnam-veterans-day-celebra/

It's Birthday Card time! WWII U.S. Navy Veteran Gil Nadeau is turning 95 Years Young on April 4th! Gil Nadeau served in the Navy during World War II in the Pacific from 1944-1946. He served as a visual signalman aboard an LCS (L-45), which at that time stood for Landing Craft Support, and was part of the Mighty Midgets. He served in the Philippines, the invasion of Borneo and in Okinawa. His final combat mission was Okinawa, where he witnessed and survived devastating kamik...aze attacks. When the Battle of Okinawa ended for Gil’s ship, his unit returned to the Philippine Islands and prepared to invade Japan thankfully Japan surrendered before the invasion could happen. Gil speaks at numerous engagements, schools and participates in many local activities to honor our WWII Veterans throughout the year. He is known to many as the shortest sailor with the tallest tales. Gil does so much to help support Honor Flight lets send him lots of cards! Birthday cards & letters can be mailed to: Gil Nadeau 2021 Via Veneto Escondido, CA 92027 Happy Birthday Gil!! #WWII #GreatestGeneration

On this National Vietnam War Veterans Day, we think about the 58,318 men and women who died in combat or are listed as missing in action from the Vietnam War. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is one of the stops on our trip to Washington, D.C. Here's some history about it: In 1980, land in Constitution Gardens was authorized for a memorial. A design competition was announced, and 21-year-old Yale architecture student Maya Lin earned the unanimous selection. Completed in 1982, t...he central element of Lin's memorial is the shiny black granite wall in a wide V shape, with one "arm" directed toward the Lincoln Memorial and the other toward the Washington Monument. For more information, go to: https://www.vvmf.org/ Here's some pictures from our trips. Please post your pictures in the comments below. And to all our Vietnam Veterans..."Welcome Home!"

It is #ServiceSaturday and check out tomorrow's episode of Call-To-Service. You can meet (virtually) WWII Veteran Triple Ace Bud Anderson in an episode called, "Live Your Dreams" at 2 p.m. Pacific Time All you have to do in order to join is click on: ... https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9181012020 Meeting ID: 918 101 2020 Passcode: P-51 For more information, visit the website at: www.call-to-service.com #CalltoService #TripleAce #GreatestGeneration

It's #FluShotFriday. For all our San Diego Veterans out there, here's info about where to get your flu shot. For all the family members, please get this info to your loved ones. Please share with your networks! #FluShots2020 #FluSeason2020

It's been awhile since we did a #ThowbackThursday so here you go... This is our fall 2019 San Diego Homecoming for our Veterans and what they see when they get to the top of the escalator. It is a sea of red, white and blue. We miss our veterans so much and miss giving them the homecoming they so deserve. #TourofHonor #GreatestGeneration #ForgottenWar... https://www.facebook.com//vb.68490645497/558916838250011/

Happy 245th Birthday to the U.S. Navy! On this day in 1775, the Continental Congress established the U.S. Navy. Almost 200 years later, in 1972, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt made October 13th the official birthday. Since then, each year on this day, the CNO has invoked celebration to honor the Navy's heritage. We have had the privilege and honor to take hundreds of WWII and Korea War Navy Veterans on their Tour of Honor since we were founded in 201...0. From the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs... https://www.facebook.com/VeteransAffairs/videos/353599902549862/ U.S. Navy #245thBirthday #HappyBirthday #USN

Do you know that tomorrow and Tuesday are Amazon Prime Days? Why is that important to us? Well, because we are one of the charities that benefits from your purchases. So by signing up and having Honor Flight San Diego as your charity, you are helping to send WWII and Korean War Veterans on their Honor Flight in 2021! Here's how it works: Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice.... AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you know. Same products, same prices, same service. Registering is super easy and can be found at: https://smile.amazon.com/ Please tell ALL your friends and family about this! #AmazonPrimeDay #AmazonSmile #TourofHonor

It's #FreedomFriday and what says Freedom like a Pearl Harbor Survivor? We are so honored to host a 99th Birthday Party (drive by) for WWII Veteran Stu Hedley! It will be on Saturday, Oct. 31 from 1100-1200. Put on your best Hawaiian shirt, decorate your car, and honk as you drive by. If you can't make it that day and want to send a card, the address is included here too. Let's give this National Treasure one of his best birthday's ever!... Please share this post with your networks or tag an organization who needs to see this - everyone is invited to drive by and wish him a Happy Birthday! #GreatestGeneration #NationalTreasure #PearlHarborSurvivor

We are so thankful for our incredible supporters. We could not meet mission with you. One of those supporters recently was Fairwinds - Ivey Ranch. One of their staff members, Lucia Poffinbarger, single-handedly organized a fundraiser. Her donation will send a veteran on their Honor Flight next year! Big thank you to our board member, Saundra Lee Cima who met with Lucia and WWII veteran Lester Jones to accept the check. ... Lester has been on his Honor Flight. He was drafted into the Army Air Corps at age 18, missed his high school graduation and went on to service 27 years!! In WWII, Lester was sent to Northern England after his training to be a pilot and mechanic for the B24 air plane. During his time fighting the Germans, he flew over 20 missions and was rescued by the free French after his plane was damaged and forced to land. On this #ThankfulThursday, we are thankful for Lester's service and Lucia's donation. Thank you! #GreatestGeneration

On this #WomanWednesday we want to highlight a project that normally happens each October. In a non-covid environment, Operation Dress Code would be collecting business clothes for military women and would be getting ready for a "Boutique Day" where the ladies get set up for the next chapters of their lives. In previous years, they have served up to 400 military women. Of course, there is no in-person event this year but the organizers thought everyone could use some good old... fashioned belly laughs. So, they have announced their upcoming Operation Dress Code Virtual Comedy Show. The show will feature the funniest guys in the business...The Veterans of Comedy! Mark your calendars for Saturday, Nov. 7th at 5 p.m. (PST) and more importantly, share this post with your networks who may need a big belly laugh! The event is free to attend, but everyone must register to get the link to join. Here's the info: https://odcveteransofcomedy.eventbrite.com The Veterans of Comedy #LeaveNoLaughBehind #VeteransofComedy

On this #MilitaryMonday, we can also call it #MailCallMonday. Do you need a fun project to do with your kids? We are collecting cards and letters for our drive through "Parade of Honor" on Veterans Day. We need at least 1,000 cards for the 1,000 care packages we will be handing out that day. The care packages are from Operation Gratitude and will be have goodies for military veterans. Here's a snapshot of some of the amazing cards and letters we have received over the years f...or our flight. Please address the letters or cards to "Dear Veteran" and thank them for their service. All mail needs to be received by Friday, Nov. 6 to: Donna Hester, 645 Front Street, Unit 614, San Diego, CA 92101. You can also contact Donna with questions or to request a letter pick up by emailing her: [email protected] or calling her cell: (619) 985-9729. Please share this with your networks! #OperationMailCall #ParadeofHonor

We were going to save this for tomorrow to remember our Honor Flight, but we want to post a homecoming video because that's what the first Sunday in October and May are all about! We wish we were in D.C. this weekend, but since we can't be, we will again THANK CBS 8 - San Diego News and Abbie Alford and Mike Edison for this amazing recap! ***Disclaimer***you may need tissues to watch this and see our SoCal heroes, their guardians, and the Honor Flight San Diego team who make ...it all happen. Enjoy and please share with your networks! #GreatestGeneration #ForgottenWar #TourofHonor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrUwzQOR-YQ

This #FreedomFriday is a sad day because right now, we would have been on our flight to the East Coast. We would have had 80 WWII and Korean War Veterans, their... guardians, our team leaders, chairman, and founder on the plane getting ready for a big weekend to celebrate our vets. It is sad because all of our HFSD volunteers miss seeing our veterans, meeting the new ones, and giving them one of the best weekends of their life. Sadly, out of the 120 WWII and Korean War veterans we had on our waiting list for their trip, a few have passed away and others are in hospice care and will not be able to go on their Tour of Honor. It has been one year since we last flew and we cannot wait to fly again. Until then, please post pictures below of your Honor Flight experience and that special veteran! We will post more pictures and news clips this weekend from our previous trips to remember just how special this expereince is. Here's where we would be right now. #GreatestGeneration #ForgottenWar #TourofHonor

Tonight's the night...the kickoff to the GI Film Festival San Diego Virtual Showcase. 6 films, 4 blocks, 2 days and there's something for everyone! Films are shown tonight and tomorrow at 5 & 7 pm (Pacific Time) and there's panel discussions with the filmmakers and subjects where you can ask your questions. ... Tickets are just $10 and help to support the future of GI Film Festival San Diego and sharing stories that are for, by, and about the military! As a partner of the GI FIlm Festival San Diego, we have a limited amount of special codes for our supporters to get one free block of films. Send us a message through Facebook and we will provide that code. The goal is for as many people across the U.S. to see these amazing military stories! Go to: https://gifilmfestivalsd.org/2020/ to get your tickets. #GIFFSD #GIFilmFestivalSanDiego

On this #WomanWednesday we celebrate 102-year-old Jean Landis who is a WWII WASP (Women AirForce Service Pilots). She was one of only 200 women who were qualified to fly pursuit aircraft like the P51 Mustang during WWII. She spent the war years ferrying these planes across country from Long Beach where they were built, to Newark, NJ where they were loaded on to ships and sent to Europe to fight the war. Her contribution to the war effort was vital. So today is two-fold: Si...nce COVID, she has been in lockdown in a senior care facility. She has not had interaction with the public and her 102nd birthday is this week. Her family asked us if we can ask our amazing supporters to send her birthday cards to brighten her day. Here's her address: Jean Landis 800 Lantern Crest Way Room 219 Santee, CA 92071 And the second part is that her documentary, She Wore Silver Wings is screening on Friday at 5 p.m. at the GI Film Festival San Diego Virtual Showcase. To purchase tickets for the Pilot block of films (also included is one about the Tuskegee Airmen), go to: www.gifilmfestivalsd.org Join us in celebrating her life, service, and legacy today. Please share this with your networks and tag someone who should see this. #WASPS #WomenAirForceServicePilots #WWII #GreatestGeneration