Honor Flight gives veterans “one more mission with honor”

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, October 28, 2026

The final Honor Flight of the Ozarks (HFO) took 75 veterans and their guardians on a free trip to Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Oct. 21. At the end of the day, they returned home to a hero’s welcome at the Springfield Regional Airport.

In addition to the 75 veterans who went on the flight, another special group of veterans were also honored during the trip to Washington through a special program called “Honoring Yesterday’s Heroes”. David Snider, executive director of HFO, said that in the program, the family members of a veteran who is deceased or physically unable to attend a flight provide HFO with a picture of the veteran. During the trip to D.C., members of HFO will place the picture of the veteran next to a memorial as directed by the family and snap a photo of it.

“We will photograph (the picture) at that memorial,” he said, “and we will bring that photograph back. We will produce that photo, and I will sign a special certificate indicating where that photo was taken on one flight … (and) we will give those to the family.”

During the Honor Flight, some veterans also took part in a special mission; they placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Among them were Jennifer Danko, Ned Reynolds, Clinton McCormack, and Joseph DeFreece.

“The significance of that is to respect the (unknown soldiers),” Snider said. “They’re in Arlington, and it’s always an honor and a privilege to be part of a (reflection) ceremony right after the changing of the guard. I had the opportunity to do it back in ‘24.”

Snider said that Honor Flight of the Ozarks provide the flights to give veterans the thanks that they deserve.

“The significance of why we do what we do … (is) to give these heroes one more mission with honor,” he said. “And that’s what it’s all about … because they are true heroes, and they are the reason that we get to walk on sidewalks in the United States with freedom now.

“I mean, there’s no way around that. They’re heroes. They sweated, they bled, they have shed blood for (the) freedom that we have today, and it’s just an honor and a privilege for me to stand alongside these heroes.”