Josh Helmuth
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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — A whopping $80,860 was raised during the KRDO13 USAA Honor Flight of Southern Colorado Telethon.
Two veterans shared why honoring those who served is more than a mission — it’s personal.
Ken Wasoba and Tammy Baugh sat down surrounded by aviation history, talking about another kind of journey — one that takes southern Colorado veterans to Washington, D.C., to see the memorials built in their honor.
Both are leaders with Honor Flight of Southern Colorado. Both are veterans themselves. And both say the impact of these trips is something you have to see to understand.
“You see a change during those two days,” Wasoba said. “It’s just a total change.”
A mission that changes lives
Honor Flight of Southern Colorado, established in 2011, is part of a nationwide network of more than 130 hubs dedicated to flying veterans — at no cost — to Washington, D.C.
Every flight, meal and hotel stay is paid for entirely through community donations.
The organization has flown more than 350 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam veterans on 21 missions. But the need remains high, with more than 300 veterans currently on a waitlist that can stretch two to three years.
“We love the organization,” Wasoba said. “It just does such great things for the veterans, for the guardians, and for the people who support us. The sendoffs, the welcome homes — it’s very emotional.”
That emotion, he says, often turns into something deeper.
“The bonding starts immediately,” Wasoba said. “You talk about that experience — at dinners, at lunch, at the memorials.”
‘The single best day of my life’
For Baugh, an Army veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, the mission hits especially close to home.
Her uncle, a Vietnam veteran from Wisconsin, went on an Honor Flight and came back changed.
“The way he talked about his time in service, his time in Vietnam, it was different,” Baugh said. “He said that [Honor FLight] was the single best day of his life.”
She says that transformation is part of a larger responsibility, especially for her generation of service members.
“I think it’s very important to recognize that the country we live in is because of people who’ve gone out and done things,” Baugh said. “In Ken’s case, he was drafted. He didn’t volunteer.”
Wasoba, who served during Vietnam, was among those called to serve without a choice, and often without support when they returned home.
“I do believe that our veterans today — my generation and beyond — owe a great deal of credit to the Vietnam veterans,” Baugh said.
Many Vietnam veterans, she added, say the Honor Flight trip is the first time they’ve ever truly been thanked or welcomed home.
The need and the goal
Right now, Honor Flight of Southern Colorado is working toward a $130,000 fundraising goal as part of its annual telethon.
The money raised helps fund two trips each year, including a larger charter flight planned for the fall that could send about 30 additional veterans beyond the usual capacity.
The organization is also always looking for volunteers to help with everything from logistics to supporting veterans during the journey.
A community effort
From the moment veterans depart to the moment they return, the experience is designed to honor their service. Flights begin with a celebratory sendoff and end with a hero’s welcome home — often with large crowds cheering them on.
Guardians, many of them family members, often describe powerful moments as they watch loved ones visit memorials for the first time. Veterans, in turn, describe something harder to put into words: closure, connection and camaraderie.
For the veterans waiting for their turn, the hope is simple: that more people will step up to help make that journey possible.
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