Lee County’s first Honor Flights leave next week

For some, it will be the first visit to the memorial dedicated to their service.

For others, it will be a return trip to the nation’s capital with added significance.

But for all, the Lee County Honor Flights next week will be a chance to remember and reflect.

The Lee County chapter of Quad Cities Honor Flight was formed in January to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the World War II Memorial, and other landmarks.

The first two flights leave from the Quad Cities on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a total of 25 veterans aboard.

Veterans fly for free, but the group’s cost per person is $550.

Greg Witzleb, chairman of the Lee County Honor Flight board, said one of the best parts of the flight is the “excitement that is generated for veterans to know that they are being remembered.”

“Organizations are working to send them out there, to see the memorial that was created especially for them,” he said.

“On their return, how excited and rejuvenated they are,” Witzleb said.

“It gives them a chance to talk to comrades and other veterans who were in the war. A lot of things they have not brought up to family members, but they will talk to other veterans.”