MACON, Ga. — Middle Georgia Honor Flight is looking for more veterans and guardians to fill their flights.
The organization takes veterans to visit the war memorials in Washington D.C., and the veterans who've already taken flight want others to experience this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
On Thursday, they released six new tour dates for veterans to visit the Vietnam Memorial completely free of cost.
Middle Georgia Honor Flight takes World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and terminally ill veterans on flights to honor the fallen and to be honored themselves. This is a chance for veterans to experience closure and peace together.
Bill Carey is from Warner Robins, and served in the Vietnam War from 1968 to 1969.
"It's the most awesome thing they can do for any veteran," Carey said. "It's really important that these veterans do this to get the healing from the inside."
Carey also serves as a military funeral honor guard, so when he went on his first trip he played "Taps" at the Vietnam Memorial on his trumpet.
He wanted to remember all 58,000 of those who didn't make it home.
"That gave me closure," Carey said. "Then, I went down and touched their names, and that was the spot where I was healed."
Burl Jimmerson served in the Vietnam War from 1971 to 1978 and was in the Air Force.
He is a disabled veteran, and after coming back from his trip, he said he cried when visiting the Vietnam Memorial and it released a lot of pent-up anger.
"To this day, I still get teary-eyed," Jimmerson said. "58,000. That's a lot of young lives."
Now, these veterans want to share their experiences with others and be a resource to the veterans who are in need of camaraderie and community.
"You need to go and talk," Jimmerson said. "Don't sit there like a stump on a log, you got to talk. Get it out, and as soon as you do, you'll feel a lot better."
Middle Georgia Honor Flight's March flight is full, but they plan more flights in April, May, September, October, and November.
For information on how to sign up, you can visit their website at www.MiddleGAHonorFlight.org.