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While traveling to Washington, D.C., with Honor Flight of Oregon brought back memories of his 14 months in a German prisoner of war camp during World War II, former U.S. Army machine gunner Cordino “Cor” Longiotti said the trip was also memorable and therapeutic. Founded in 2010, Honor Flight of Oregon (www.honorflightoforegon.org) provides trips for veterans living in Oregon to see memorials established in their honor. But funding for the flights has become so limited that organizers are reaching out to the community to help keep the program afloat to ensure any living veterans with a desire to take an honor flight are able to do so. Organization Vice President Terry Haines said the organization lacks large sponsors and counts on small donations. Haines said the group wants to provide the trip for as many veterans as possible — and as soon as possible, knowing virtually all remaining World War II vets are well into their 90s. The organization’s nearly empty coffers, Haines said, are painful to contemplate when applications show up from veterans wishing to go. “Right now, if we spent every dime we had, we could get the flight there and be broke to the point we could not do what we need to do when we’re there or be able to have another flight,” Haines said. “What we’re trying to do is raise enough money so we could not only pay for this flight but make sure we could have another flight mostly paid for.” He said that unlike honor flight groups from larger cities that have big corporate sponsors, the Southern Oregon group hasn’t found a major donor willing to step up. “We’ve gone to some big companies but they’ll offer to give us product as a donation, which is appreciated, but a bag of product isn’t going to pay for plane tickets or for a bus to get these guys around when they’re in D.C. or for hotel rooms for 52 people.” Haines said the trips, which cost an average of $1,000 per veteran, can be difficult to coordinate given the health issues faced by older veterans. Most travel with a family member or caregiver and many require a wheelchair for the trip. “They’re of an age where a lot of them are on oxygen or they’re diabetic or got other medical problems,” Haines said. “We have two nurses from Asante who have volunteered and paid their own way to go and to make sure we have good medical coverage. “We fly on a Friday and then we get up Saturday morning and get on a bus. There are 55 seats on the bus, so we can’t take more than that. The ones who can’t transfer from a wheelchair change the count because we need two seats for one person in a wheelchair. I did logistics in the military, that’s why I run the flight.” Harder to plan for than logistics and itineraries, he said, is funding. “We could go as often as we had the funds to be able to afford it,” he said. “Right now, we’ve been running one flight a year, and I’ve been working really hard just to get the funding for that.” He noted that World War II veterans and veterans with terminal conditions are given priority for the trip, followed by Korean and Vietnam veterans. To date, the Honor Flight group in Southern Oregon has provided the Honor Flights for 530 veterans. More than 1,800 elsewhere in the state have also gone, thanks to the efforts of affiliated groups. Longiotti, who served in the 179th Infantry Regiment, was captured in the bloody battle of Anzio in 1944 in Italy after his unit was cut off and surrounded. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroism. After making the trip to Washington, D.C., about three years ago, Longiotti said he’ll never forget the experience and hopes his fellow veterans get the same chance. Longiotti traveled with a group of 50 veterans — 15 of whom were wheelchair-bound — visiting memorials from all past wars and others dedicated to various branches of the military. The camaraderie of the veterans he traveled with and the reception the vets received in communities during the trip were an important and therapeutic experience that brought back memories he’d tucked away for more than 70 years. “It was probably the best trip of my life,” Longiotti said. “We had a lot of greetings at the airports — all the airports — and they even had firetrucks on each side of the road when we pulled into the hotel. “We got to tour all the memorials which really reminded me of some of the things I’d been through during the war, and they took us to the one for the Vietnam and Korean wars.” He said seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and a visit to the Lincoln Memorial were moving and something you need to see in person to truly appreciate. “You just can’t describe all of it for someone who hasn’t gone,” he said. The trip also helps brings closure for those who go. “I think it sort of eases their mind or kind of settles them a bit to see, more or less, that some things were done to remember their sacrifice and to remember the lives,” Longiotti said. “To know that the country appreciates them … it’s something everyone should go see.” Haines said a group of veterans is scheduled to travel by September, and applications are in place for several additional trips for which no funding is currently available. For more info, or to donate, see www.honorflightoforegon.org. Donations can also be mailed to Honor Flight, Rogue Chapter, P.O. Box 5597, Central Point, OR 97502. Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected].