50th Eastern Iowa Honor flight honors WWII vet

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - Veterans from across Iowa gathered at the Eastern Iowa Airport for the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight’s 50th trip to Washington, D.C.

Wednesday’s trip will be honoring Mike Wilson, a 99-year-old World War 2 Veteran and local philanthropist who has helped to make the honor flight possible.

Wilson and his late wife Esther donated millions of dollars to groups around Cedar Rapids, including the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight. He and Esther both loved sharing.

“She also believed in sharing, and we always got a lot of gratitude out of the people that we shared with,” Wilson said. “A lot of good feeling and when you do something for an organization.”

Together, they donated $5-6 million to organizations across Cedar Rapids.

Wilson was drafted into the navy in August 1944. He says he wants all veterans to get the attention they deserve, especially the bravery of those who served in Vietnam who didn’t get a warm welcome home.

“The public kind of turned on it and made it really tough for the veterans,” Wilson said. “They didn’t have a real good welcoming cap coming home, and yet what they did was just as honorable as what anybody did in World War 2.”

Eighty-eight veterans will be on Wednesday’s Honor Flight. Friends and family are invited to return to the airport around 7 p.m. for the welcoming party. The next Honor Flight is the day after Memorial Day.

”Everybody ought to sign up and go,” Wilson said. “It’s a wonderful feeling, and it’s a service that’s provided for all the veterans.”

The waiting list for the Honor Flight is roughly two and a half years, with around 700 veterans currently signed up.

Veterans can learn more or apply by clicking here to visit the Eastern Iowa Honor Flight’s website. The trip is free for Veterans, but guardians will have to pay to tag along.

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