Holton, Jackson Heights planning June Honor Flights

During the first week of June, both Holton and Jackson Heights high schools will take groups of military veterans and their student guardians to Washington, D.C. as part of the national Honor Flight program, and representatives from both schools say they are open to cooperating on a future trip to the nation’s capital to honor area veterans.

Holton High School’s second Honor Flight — its first was held in June of last year — will be held Sunday and Monday, June 4 and 5, while Jackson Heights High School’s ninth Honor Flight, the first the school has conducted since the fall of 2019, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, June 6 and 7.

Both Honor Flights will feature many of the same highlights as in previous years, including visits to the National Mall, where the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War memorials are located, as well as the Lincoln Memorial, and a visit to Arlington National Ceremony to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Both trips will also involve overnight stays in the nation’s capital — in Jackson Heights’ case, the first trip with an overnight stay since the fall of 2009, as all other JHHS Honor Flights had been single-day events.

While JHHS is recognized as an Honor Flight “hub,” or a base from which Honor Flights are organized and conducted, Holton’s first Honor Flight last year was conducted in cooperation with a hub based in Lyndon, and this year’s HHS Honor Flight will also involved cooperation with the Lyndon hub.

JHHS Principal Derek Smith and HHS Honor Flight coordinator Debbie Harshaw said that cooperation between the two schools on a future flight is planned.

“We are planning to connect with Jackson Heights for a 2024 flight,” Harshaw said. “Their hub will be used to plan and facilitate a Jackson County Honor Flight. This is already in the works.”

Smith also said that future collaborative efforts between the two schools on Honor Flights are “a conversation that we’re willing to have… I’m hoping that we’ll get together and have a conversation about what this ought to look like moving forward.”

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