PLATTSBURGH — North Country Honor Flight will take to the skies again Saturday morning as flights 70 and 71 take off from Plattsburgh.
“These flights actually change lives,” North Country Honor Flight Executive Director Barrie Finnegan said.
“They don’t change lives for just one day. These guys come back, and they are uplifted and changed forever.”
The aircraft Saturday will be carrying 27 veterans of Vietnam and one Korean War veteran.
This is the second of four flights scheduled for 2026 with additional flights set for Sept. 5 and Oct. 3.
Since its inception in 2013, North Country Honor Flight has sent more than 1,000 area veterans and their guardians to Washington, D.C., to visit war memorials for World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam and the Cold War.
The local Honor Flight chapter is part of a nationwide program that began honoring World War II veterans in 2005 with trips to Washington. Nearly 340,000 veterans have been honored with flights.
Flights are funded by donations and money raised through various fundraising events conducted by local businesses and organizations.
The Grass Hole Cannabis of Plattsburgh was instrumental in raising more than $20,000 for Honor Flight recently with aid from the Sons of the American Legion Post 1619, Legion Riders and Legion Auxiliary.
“This is a great program, and this is something we can do to give something back to our community,” Brent Rogers, owner of The Grass Hole Cannabis, said.
Saturday’s event will kick off with the familiar thundering cacophony of hundreds of motorcycles roaring through the streets, serving as an escort for the buses carrying the veterans to the U.S. Oval for the 7 a.m. send-off ceremony.
The ceremony will feature the honoring of previous Honor Flight veterans and musical entertainment by local performers.
The veterans will be greeted by local supporters at the Oval upon their return at about 8:30 p.m.
Rogers said he is glad to help the program.
“These veterans are so appreciative of these flights,” he said. “They are just blown away by the whole thing.”
Finnegan said it was a thrill to be sending a Korean War veteran on Saturday’s flight.
“We believe there are others out there, and even World War II veterans, and we would love to get them involved and send them as soon as possible,” he said.
“Hopefully, some will come forward and we can take care of them.”
Financially, Finnegan said the program is solid right now, but costs keep rising.
“We’ve been lucky. The community has really always stepped up and delivered for us, and they continue to do that, and it is greatly appreciated,” he said.