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ADAMS – Although her father has since passed on, Cindy Pechacek still remembers the joy he felt when he took an honor flight to Washington, D.C.

“My dad was a veteran and he was able to take an honor flight, and he said it was the most moving experience that he ever had in his life,” Pechacek said. “He said it was a shame that other people couldn’t go. It meant the world to him.”

Now others in the area will get a chance to go to have the experience of Pechacek’s father as North Star Honor Flight in Adams has joined the National Honor Flight Network, giving many area veterans who served through to the end of the Vietnam War Era the chance to fly. Terminally ill veterans are also eligible for the program, which will cover the following Minnesota counties of Blue Earth, Dodge, Faribault, Fillmore, Freeborn, Mower, Olmsted, Steele and Waseca along with Cerro Gordo, Howard, Mitchell, Worth and Winnebago Counties in Iowa.

Lynn Sathre, commander of the Adams Post 146 is thrilled to have the North Star Honor Flight in Adams and he is willing to accommodate the group to make sure they can get veterans a proper salute to their past service.

“I’m very happy that we can get this project started and I think it’s a wonderful thing,” said Lynn Sathre. “I talked to someone who has been on three of these flights and he said it’s the best experience of his life.”

Jill Klapperich, Northstar Honor Flight Board President, said it will be a community-wide effort as the program is run by volunteers and relies on support from the served communities.

“Those of us who are involved are passionate about the project and we want to provide veterans this opportunity,” Klapperich said. “An honor flight is a small token of appreciation for our veterans. It shows them that their sacrifice is as important today as it was when they served. Many of them did not receive the grateful welcome they deserved when they returned home from service and this is our chance to provide that for them.”

One of the volunteer opportunities is for community members to become guardians and fly with veterans. The cost to be a guardian is $500.

The hope is to have the first flight by spring of 2025, with an average of at least two flights per year. Klapperich estimates that the first flight could include between 50 and 100 veterans with the intention of flying out of Rochester. The flights will leave early in the morning for Washington, D.C. and return at around 9 or 10 p.m. on the same day. Klapperich encourages anyone who wants to fly to apply as soon as possible.

“As a veteran, it’s your turn to go now,” she said. “Everything will be set up for you and the buses will take you back to the flight. It’s a pretty smooth process and we do have wheelchairs and medical staff available.”

Dennis Lewison said that his wife Nancy has served as a guardian for a family member in the past and he is highly appreciative of what honor flights do for veterans.

“Being a Vietnam Era veteran, I’d really like to thank the dedicated people who make this happen,” Lewison said. “You need to be there and see this. When they come back, you’d think they were 10 years younger. When my wife’s uncle got off the plane we asked him if he wanted to go home, but he wanted to go down the Stewartville Legion.”

The Honor Flight Networks began its flights in 2005 and the first flights used six small planes, six pilots and 12 veterans. Since then, the project has expanded to include more veterans. More than 300,000 veterans have flown to Washington, D.C. through the project.

Veterans may sign up for a flight at northstarhonorflight.org. Donations can be placed on the Web site, or sent to North Star Honor Flight, P.O. Box 321, Adams, MN 5509.

There are now three honor flight hubs in the state of Minnesota.