Highlights from 2020
A message from our Chairman
Dear Honor Flight San Diego Friends and Family,

Our hearts are heavy that Honor Flight San Diego was “grounded” this year and we were unable to take our WWII and Korean War veterans to see their memorials in Washington, D.C. It was necessary to cancel flights in an effort to keep our veterans safe and healthy. We do not want to put our precious passengers at risk! 

However even without a flight, Honor Flight San Diego worked diligently to recognize and thank not only our WWII and Korean War veterans, but all veterans. The highlights of our 2020 accomplishments are below.

As we look forward to 2021, we will continue to get our veterans on their Honor Flight. With your support, our intention is to take two flights in October 2021!

Our requests are to please help us find our remaining San Diego WWII and Korean War veterans, and help us fund two flights in 2021. We already have 128 WWII and Korean War veterans waiting to go!

Thank you for your continued generous support of our mission - to thank our veterans for their service and sacrifice by taking them to see the memorials built in their honor.

All of us at Honor Flight San Diego wish you a very happy and healthy New Year!

Most sincerely,
Julie Brightwell
Honor Flight San Diego 2020 Highlights
  • San Diego Gulls Military Hero of the Game (Pre-Covid): Honor Flight San Diego nominated WWII U.S. Navy Veteran Joe Renteria for the Military Hero of the Game. The San Diego Gulls and San Diego Veterans Coalition partnered with Mt. Soledad National Veterans Memorial to gift Joe a plaque at Mt. Soledad. To learn more about Mt. Soledad National Memorial: Click here!
  • R. Roger Rowe School Hosted Normandy Jump 2019 Screening & Fundraiser (Pre-Covid): We were grateful to the school for hosting a fundraiser in which we had over 20 of our WWII and Korea Veterans in attendance. Thank you to all who supported this event! For more information about the documentary, go to: Normandy Jump 2019
  • San Diego Enforcers Salute to Service Game (Pre-Covid): We were selected as the San Diego Enforcers Military Charity of the Season. The team is comprised of first responders, law enforcement and military who play full-contact football for charity. The kickoff to their season each year is playing against active duty Marines. Our veterans were honored on the field at half-time as every player, coach and official shook their hand and thanked them for their service. Due to Covid, the team was only able to play one game this season; but they are looking forward to 2021! To learn more about the San Diego Enforcers, go to: Enforcers
  • Our 10-Year Anniversary Gala (Pre-Covid): We are appreciative of everyone who attended our gala, donated auction items and financially, sponsored a veteran to attend, volunteered at the event and organized every detail. This event was held the last weekend before California residents were issued stay-at-home orders. Thank you supporters!
  • Honor Flight San Diego Operation Mail Call: We have over 120 WWII and Korean War veterans on our waiting list who did not get to take their Honor Flight in 2020. To let them know they have not been forgotten, we sent them packages full of “thank you for your service” cards and letters from grateful children and adults. Our letter writers come from not just San Diego, but from all over the country and the veterans were so surprised and appreciative. We selected two veterans who got personally delivered surprise Mail Call packages from our Founder and our Chairman! To see the CBS San Diego story, go to: Operation Mail Call
  • Normandy Jump 2019 Commemorated the 76th Anniversary of D-Day: Honor Flight San Diego was invited to participate in a flyover in an aircraft that did missions over France. Since we could not bring our local D-Day veterans to the event (due to COVID), we designed posterboards of our veterans. Our volunteers took their posterboards on the flight over San Diego and shared their D-Day story. To see the media coverage of this, go to: D-Day Commemoration
  • USS Midway Ceremony Commemorating 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII: We felt it was important to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the End of WWII. In a non-COVID environment, we would have been part of an in-person event with hundreds of our veterans. So this year, we partnered with the USS Midway Museum and the National Spirit of ’45 Organization for a virtual celebration. While we could not have spectators in attendance, the event to honor our WWII veterans was broadcast via Facebook Live at: Virtual Ceremony

  • San Diego Padres Military Sunday: We provided 75 photos to be made into cardboard cutouts for a special San Diego Padres Military Sunday game. The cutouts of the WWII Veterans were for the recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII. Our Vets had prime seats behind home plate to "watch” the game!
  • Honor Flight San Diego and Operation Gratitude Veterans Day Drive-Thru Parade of Honor: Our veterans love the annual Veterans Day Parade and this year, it had to be cancelled. We thought creatively how to do a socially-distanced, no-contact parade. We had veterans from all eras and active duty military that came out for the Veterans Day Celebration. They drove through the National University parking lot to receive cheers of thanks from socially distanced and masked well-wishers. All veterans and active duty military received a care package from us and Operation Gratitude. Extra packages were donated to Support the Enlisted Project and Courage to Call for a total distribution of 1,000 care packages! To see pictures from the event, Click here!

  • Mt. Soledad Veterans Day Ceremony: We partnered with the Mt.Soledad National Veterans Memorial to honor our WWII veterans as they installed a special plaque to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the end of WWII. The event, with our special WWII veterans telling their stories, is available for viewing Here!

  • Honor Flight San Diego and Operation Gratitude Holiday Gift Bags: We assembled and delivered 1,000 gift bags with hand-knitted scarves and treats from Operation Gratitude to veterans all over San Diego! The holiday gifts were delivered to the Veterans Home of California-Chula Vista; Veterans Village of San Diego; VA San Diego Healthcare System–La Jolla; Warrior Foundation Freedom Stations 1 & 2; and Naval Medical Center San Diego-Balboa Hospital. To learn more about Operation Gratitude: Click here!
How can you support us?
We know that there are many deserving organizations to donate to, so why Honor Flight San Diego?
  • We receive no government funding
  • We are 100% volunteer-staffed
  • We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization so your donations are tax-deductible!
  • We have no paid employees, so every $ supports our mission
  • We have taken over 1,400 Veterans on the their Honor Flight
  • Pending funding, we want to do two trips to Washington, D.C. in 2021!
  • Each three-day trip costs about $250,000 and veterans do not incur any expense...we believe it is the least we can do to say "Thank you for your service!"
Or drop a check in the mail to: Honor Flight San Diego, 9423 Keck Court, San Diego, CA 92129
Follow us on social media
We post a few times a week and this is where you find the latest news and updates for our organization.

Please "like" us on Facebook Official Facebook page! Then tell your friends about us!