The Eastern Iowa Honor Flight is a Non-profit organization that is dedicated to sending Veterans to Washington D.C to visit different war memorials and historical sites for free.

Joe Benedict, a social studies teacher from Kennedy recently took a trip with his father Jim Benedict, who is a Korean War veteran. He served from 1951-1953. They went on the Honor flight on April 22.

Along with the Benedicts, three other people who are in the Kennedy community went with their family members to D.C. Connie Cavines and her father, John Ross and his father, and Mary Gibney’s Husband went with his father on the April 22 flight.

“The flight honors the Vets and it was pretty meaningful watching them relive some of the stories and seeing the monuments and it’s definitely something I won’t forget,” Benedict said.

Benedict and his father took a charter plane from the Cedar Rapids airport and flew into Reagan international airport for the visit.

“My dads favorite part was the changing of the guards at The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. And just the spontaneous kids coming up and saying thank you for serving, that was great.”

The Honor Flight has been an organization for four years and is committed to sending local veterans that served in any war to see the memorials.

“My favorite part of the trip was just watching my dad and seeing how much it all meant to him,” Benedict said. “I’ve been to D.C before but it was a little different seeing it through the eyes of someone else.”