'It is so moving': Veterans head to national monuments on Honor Flight Arizona

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Published  May 18, 2026 5:35pm MST
FOX 10 Phoenix
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Honor Flight Arizona launches first historic charter flight

A group of 91 military veterans and 60 guardians took off on a historic Honor Flight Arizona charter flight too Washington, D.C., to see their national service memorials. FOX 10's Danielle Miller learns more about the program hoping to send more veterans in the future. 

The Brief

    • Honor Flight Arizona launched its first standalone chartered flight to Washington, D.C., carrying 91 veterans from the Vietnam War and Korean War at no cost to them.
    • The chartered trip was made possible by Allegiant Airlines and community donations to help reduce a backlog of approximately 1,000 veterans currently on the organization's waiting list.
    • Accompanied by 60 guardians, the group of veterans will view their respective service memorials before returning to Arizona on May 20.

PHOENIX - For the first time, a flight just for the veterans has taken off. All 91 of these veterans will be heading to Washington, D.C., to view their service memorials at no cost to them. It is all part of Honor Flight Arizona.

"It's a mix of Vietnam veterans and Korean War veterans, and there's 60 guardians. They go with us. Half of them are family members. They make sure the veterans have a safe journey," said Matthew Hartman, an Honor Flight Arizona Board of directors member.

Allegiant Airlines is making the chartered trip possible on May 18 as well as donations which fund the organization. The hope is to send more veterans.

What they're saying:

"This is our first stand-alone charter that we've done for Honor Flight Arizona. The reason we're doing a charter is we have a pretty big backlog of veterans. We have about 1,000 on our waiting list so we're trying to figure out a way to get more veterans to DC. So it is our first, and we're trying to see how it goes," Hartman said.

Veteran Donald Kneedler has been on the Honor Flight and now volunteers and will be going on the trip.

"I went to Vietnam two days out of high school in 1963," Kneedler said.

He is honored to be with this round of veterans, showing them their service to this country has not been forgotten.

"We saw all of the beautiful national monuments. The Vietnam Wall was so emotional. I didn't lose anybody because I was on the ship, but when you see all of the helmets and the boots...it is so moving," Kneedler said.

The group will be flying back to Arizona on May 20. 

The Source: Interviews with Matthew Hartman, an Honor Flight Arizona Board of directors member and veteran Donald Kneedler.

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