Terry Randolph, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2948, and Kathy Sikkila, Koochiching County Veterans Service Officer, are teaming up to give a Borderland World War II veteran they recognition they feel a veteran deserves.

On May 15, a flight carrying about 100 WWII veterans will travel from Duluth to Washington D.C. and back in one day — Randolph and Sikkila hope someone from Koochiching County is on that flight.

“I would definitely like to see someone from that area get this opportunity,” Randolph said of the experience.

The flight is made possible by Honor Flight Northland, a non-profit organization created solely to honor veterans living in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin for their sacrifices. The northland branch of the organization stems from the Honor Flight Network, which reaches out to veterans across the nation.

The Honor Flight Northland website claimed its goal is “to transport our heroes to Washington D.C. to visit and reflect on their memorials.” There is no cost to a veteran who is eligible for the trip.

Randolph said no one from the International Falls area has participated in the program and he hopes the May flight will change that.

“We have received about five applications from some interested people so far,” Randolph said. “We hope to get more in the next couple of weeks.”

The Honor Flight Northland website explained the focus on WWII veterans. It said that of all of the wars in recent memory, it was World War II that truly threatened existence as a nation and as a culturally diverse, free society. Now, with more than 1,000 World War II veterans dying each day, time to express thanks to these brave men and women is running out.

Randolph echoed the web statement saying this trip is a chance for these people to be remembered.

“I’ve been told that people have ran into old friends or reconnected with their comrades of years ago from all over the country while in D.C.,” he said.

Although the day trip to Washington D.C. may be a long one, Randolph said he’s heard that veterans participating are s so thrilled by what they see and do, they don’t even notice the fatigue that most would experience. He also said he’s been told that a crowd gives the group a “well-deserved” send-off and welcome home.

“I guess it is unbelievable,” Randolph said of the groups that gather for the take-off and return flight.

While Randolph said he does not know when it will be determined if a veteran from Koochiching County will board the May 15 flight, he said he is optimistic that someone from the area will be among the 100 veterans in Washington D.C. that day.

“The people of the organization want to keep it going until they send everyone,” he said. “We hope it is one of our applicant’s turn.”

Any local WWII veterans interested in applying for the honor flight may pick up an application at the VFW. Randolph asks that they be returned to him and he will forward them to the appropriate location.