Thirty-five veterans at the VFW Veterans Village in Ft. McCoy got to tour Washington, D.C. Tuesday without leaving Marion County.
- Villages group offers 'flightless' Honor Flight
- Virtual video trip takes vets on every step of trip
- Villages Honor Flight conducts eight trips a year
Villages Honor Flight conducts the flightless missions because some veterans physically can't handle the 22-hour trip, so they bring the virtual video trip to them.
"They're actually seeing the plane take off through the pilot's window, they're flying," said Gary Kadow, mission program director. "They land in Baltimore, they take a bus from Baltimore to Washington and then they tour all their monuments and come back again."
The veterans get a personal guardian and a homecoming welcome, like they would on a regular flight.
Villages Honor Flight conducts eight missions a year and has served over 800 veterans since the non-profit organization started in 2012.