DFW Honor Flight & American Wheelchair Mission

The Knights from the Fort Worth Diocese have been supporting the DFW Honor Flights for nearly 10 years by donating dozens of wheelchairs. The Honor Flight uses these wheelchairs to wheel the veterans as they sightsee the various war memorials in Washington DC. I had the honor to participate in one of these flights in September. There were two WWII veterans, 2 Korean War veterans and 40 Vietnam veterans. It was truly amazing to be with so many humble war hero’s and to watch them as they reflected on what the memorials meant to them.

I was very proud to see how the Knights of Columbus was able to allow this organization to succeed in its mission by providing these wheelchairs to them. Many of these veterans would not have been able to tour these memorials due to their health. By donating these wheelchairs, the DFW Honor Flight saves them from having to rent them or the veterans to have to bring their own. These wheelchairs go through a lot for such a short trip. They are loaded and unloaded on the plane, then loaded and unloaded on the bus at each stop. Quick repairs can be made because they are all the same. The best part is that these are full size well-made wheelchairs. I noticed another Honor Flight chapter was also in DC at the same time. They had various wheelchairs and all of them had small cart type wheels and they didn’t look that sturdy. The Knights wheelchairs are solid, big wheels on the back, and bright yellow. Can’t miss them.

It was obvious that these veterans truly enjoyed this trip and were treated with full honors from location to location. I could see that they were very thankful that the wheelchairs were available to them allowing them to enjoy the trip even more. This is just another way that the Knights of Columbus and the American Wheelchair Mission provide mobility to so many people.

If you know of a veteran who would like to part of one of these Honor Flights, I encourage you to look into this organization. And of course, if you know anyone who needs a wheelchair, just ask. The Knights are here to help. Be proud of what all the Knights do – I am. And God Bless our Veterans.