INDIANAPOLIS (WTHR) — The coronavirus has put a popular program for veterans on hold: Indy Honor Flights, which are so memorable and meaningful for those who served our country.
For many Hoosier heroes, the cheers, thank you's and hugs of overdue homecomings we've witnessed over the years are a temporary casualty of COVID-19.
Honor flights all across the country have been postponed to protect veterans' health.
"Every single veteran that we serve - WWII, Korea and Vietnam era - are all high-risk," explained Indy Honor Flight Chairman Dale True. "They'd have to be on an airplane. They'd have to be on tour buses. There's just a lot of contact back and forth so we have to make sure that's 100 percent safe for everybody as much as we can before we allow a flight to go."
The national honor flight network grounded trips to memorials in Washington D.C. through August.
That meant 170 Hoosier veterans who were supposed go this spring couldn't. That included MSGT Jimmie Branham, who served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, including the Vietnam era.
"I was really looking forward to going to see all the monuments," Branham said. "I'm especially looking forward to seeing the Vietnam Wall. I have not seen that before."
That's the idea behind this program: a chance for veterans to see those memorials and travel there for free.
And it's a chance, especially for Vietnam-era veterans, to see just how much their service is appreciated.
Branham, though disappointed, certainly understands the decision to postpone to September or October.
But for heroes of World War II, True says delays are more difficult.
And it breaks his heart.
"Our major concern is these folks don't have the time to wait," True said. "A year is a very long time when you're in your late 90's or late 80's and we have lost a couple veterans who were scheduled to go in the meantime."
Even if travel gets safer in the next few months, there may be more delays through the end of the year.
And social distancing doesn't really fit an honor flight.
Crowds and contact are what make these trips so special.
It's part of their mission.
"Really part of the fun of it is when they get to DC, all these people gather around the memorials. They get hugged and kissed and pretty girls tell 'em they love 'em," True said. "So if we can't do that, if we can't have that personal contact or face-to-face experience, we're not even sure we'll be able to provide them the experience that we want to."
It's that tangible tribute they hope to resume safely, soon.
"The next flight that they have that I'm available to go? I'll be on it," Branham said with a smile.
The national honor flight organization plans to make a decision by mid-July as far as future flights. Meanwhile, Indy Honor Flight is still fundraising. If you'd like to make a donation or learn more about the program, click here.