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It was a whirlwind of a day, but one that Donald Ruen, Cliff Sackett, Ron Vorwerk, and David Whalen will never forget. They, along with 82 other military veterans flew to Washington, D.C. on a North Star Honor Flight on April 27.
North Star Honor Flight is one of over 128 hubs of the Honor Flight Network and is based out of Adams, Minn. It serves 10 counties in southern Minnesota and five in northern Iowa. The April 27 flight flew out of the Rochester International Airport with 86 veterans accompanied by 79 guardians. Since Honor Flights began in 2005, over 300,000 veterans from all over the country have been able to fly to Washington, D.C. to visit various war memorials and monuments there.
The Honor Flight Network was co-founded by Jeff Miller and Earl Morse with the intent to honor and show appreciation to World War II veterans. That scope has been widened to also include those who were in the military during the Korean and Vietnam wars and veterans who are critically ill. All costs for the veterans are covered by donations, and the waiting list can be long. “It took a year to get onto it,” Ron Vorwerk explained.
The Honor Flight left the Rochester airport at about 6 am amid fanfare for the two-hour flight to Washington, D.C. When they touched down, they were greeted with a water cannon salute and then boarded buses. Throughout the day, they visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, FDR Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Navy Memorial, Memorial Amphitheater, Marine Corps Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, and more. David Whalen and Cliff Sackett’s favorite part of the trip was getting to watch the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. “Those guys are pretty well trained,” Whalen said.
Because they had so many places to visit in one day, they weren’t able to spend much time at each memorial. “I’d never been to Washington, D.C. before,” Sackett said. “We skimmed over a lot of things and someday it would be nice to go back there and spend more time. But it was a great trip.” He highly recommends all veterans take the opportunity to go on an Honor Flight. Sackett knew about the flights for some time, but waited to put his name on the list to allow WWII and Korean War vets to go first.
Donald Ruen had been to Washington before, but visiting with an Honor Flight was a different experience. “It was truly wonderful,” he said. “I think everyone should go on it. It brings back a lot of memories.” Ruen was wounded twice in Vietnam and his bunkmate was killed in action. “I got to smudge his name on the paper at the memorial.”
Like Sackett, Vorwerk had never been to Washington, D.C. either. “We had a great time,” he said. He noted that they watched helicopters carrying the king and queen of England fly overhead while they were there, but his favorite part was sitting at the feet of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial.
Whalen had considered taking an Honor Flight, but never got around to filling out the paperwork until his kids pushed him. “I’m glad I did it now,” he said. “The trip was a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
The Honor Flight landed back in Rochester around 9:30 that evening. Sackett knew what to expect, having welcomed other veterans home from Honor Flights, but that didn’t make it any less special to see so many people from their communities, including Honor Guards and Boy Scouts, lined up to cheer for the veterans and thank them for their service.
It wasn’t just veterans flying on the April 27 North Star Honor Flight. Elden Salwey from rural Rushford served in active reserves five years and then another five in inactive reserves. He passed away in 2025, never having been on an Honor Flight. His wife Lila explained that after he passed away, she was told that he had turned down offers to go on previous Honor Flights to allow Vietnam and Korean veterans to go first, saying that they deserved it more than he did. To honor his memory, his flag was taken along on the flight. “It was just amazing,” Lila said. “They were so respectful and took such good care of the flag.” She, her daughter-in-law LeAnn, and LeAnn’s son Derek were able to walk the flag to the plane, and then the family was presented back the flag that evening when the veterans returned.
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