As the nation salutes its veterans this month, electric cooperatives are recalling their experiences as supporters of Honor Flights for veterans in their communities.

The Honor Flight Network has transported more than 300,000 veterans to Washington, D.C., since it launched in 2005. During the daylong visits, veterans visit memorials that commemorate their service in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War.

The flights have enormous appeal among co-ops, and their employees have raised thousands of dollars for the trips and volunteered countless hours as airport greeters and travel companions, or “guardians,” for the veterans, some of them in frail condition.

“Co-ops are about serving their members and their community,” said Robyn Tate, human resources and community relations director at Ohio’s Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative.

Amid today’s political divisions, the trips “strengthen community bonds and foster a sense of collective appreciation and understanding,” she said. “By coming together, we not only honor the past but also inspire hope for a more unified future.”

The Millersburg-based co-op has raised more than $150,000 to send more than six Honor Buses—140 veterans and their guardians—to D.C., for three-day trips since 2016. For those efforts, it shared the 2018 NRECA Cooperative Purpose Award with another Ohio co-op, Paulding-Putnam Electric Cooperative.

Since 2010, Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives have sponsored veterans, including two veterans from each of their 16 member co-ops, for Honor Flights. On this year’s flight, 68 veterans, most of them from the Vietnam War, left the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington for a full day of honors and sightseeing. That day, two of the veterans were inducted into the Military Women’s Memorial.

“It's a very emotional experience,” said Joe Settles, manager of member services at East Kentucky Power Cooperative in Winchester. “I've had the opportunity to serve as a guardian, a bus captain and flight director. Every one of them is unique, but it’s very emotional, especially for many of those veterans who did not get the welcome home that they deserved.”

Take a look at other Honor Flights sponsored by co-ops over the years:

In Shreve, Ohio, a homecoming parade greets veterans returning from a three-day Honor Bus trip sponsored by Holmes-Wayne Electric Electric Cooperative earlier this year.

Veterans receive a patriotic sendoff at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, in August as they prepare to board a Washington, D.C.-bound Honor Flight sponsored by Kentucky's Touchstone Cooperatives.

U.S. Army veteran Donna Spurlock (left) and U.S. Air Force veteran Wanita Elison were inducted into the Women’s Military Memorial for their service during the Vietnam War. Both women were among 68 veterans on an Honor Flight sponsored by Kentucky’s Touchstone Energy Cooperatives in August.

At Arlington National Cemetery, veterans on Honor Flight sponsored by Kentucky’s Touchstone Cooperatives in August are thanked for their service to the nation.

Wisconsin’s Barron Electric Cooperative has raised nearly $64,000 to send nearly 130 veterans on the Never Forgotten Honor Flight over the past four years. Recently, the co-op raised $15,000 in partnership with the Federated Youth Foundation and CoBank.

Veterans on the Never Forgotten Honor Flight Mission 47 sponsored by Wisconsin’s Barron Electric Cooperative gather in front of the Lincoln Memorial in September.

Every year, northeast Indiana co-ops and another in Ohio rotate sending a photographer on each Honor Flight trip. Each veteran on the flight gets a keepsake photo album from the trip. Participating co-ops are Northeastern REMC, LaGrange County REMC, Noble REMC, Kosciusko REMC, Heartland REMC, Marshall County REMC and Jay County REMC in Indiana and Paulding-Putnam EC in Ohio.

While not an official Honor Flight, Iowa’s Midland Power Cooperative worked with Friends of Army Aviation to send four co-op veterans on a special helicopter trip last year. The group organizes special flights on refurbished U.S. Army aircraft, including this Bell UH-1, or Huey. A co-op director and three employees were on board the chopper, which took off from Boone Municipal Airport and circled the area.

In Iowa, retired Midland Power Director Tom Ingebritson and Midland Power Energy Services Adviser Larry Beilke (right)—both U.S. Army veterans—take in the sights during a special flight in September 2023. During his tour in Vietnam, Ingebritson flew 41 assault missions from a helicopter similar to this one—a Bell UH-1, or Huey.

As part of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight, U.S. Army veterans who served in Vietnam wait for their flight to take off to Washington, D.C., from Des Moines International Airport on Sept. 18. Iowa’s Guthrie County REC in Guthrie Center has supported the group, which has flown about 3,500 veterans. From left: T.J. Powell, Dwight Hawley and Steve Powell.