$80k grant helps Honor Flight provide ‘trip of a lifetime’ for more Las Vegas veterans

Thanks to a much-needed $80,000 grant, several dozen World War II and Korean War veterans will travel to the nation’s capital this year to see the monuments to the wars they fought in.

The Englestad Family Foundation provided the grant Feb. 23 to Honor Flight Southern Nevada, the nonprofit’s executive director, Belinda Morse, said Tuesday.

“This means we can run two flights this year without worrying about not having the funds to do it,” Morse said.

She said 17 local World War II veterans and 12 Korean War veterans are scheduled for an April 21 -23 Honor Flight to see seven national monuments in the Washington, D.C., area. The trek includes round-trip airfare from Las Vegas to Baltimore, ground transportation, lodging and meals.

Stops will include visits to national memorials to World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and the Marine Corps War Memorial and Tomb of the Unknowns in Arlington, Virginia.

A second Honor Flight is being scheduled for October to accommodate about 60 veterans, including many from the Korean War.

Navy veteran Lester Burgwardt of Henderson, who served in World War II and the Korean War and later in the Army Reserve, was an Honor Flight Southern Nevada guest last October.

“It’s the most humbling, dadgum experience I ever had,” he said.

“That was the first and probably last time I’ll ever get back there,” said Burgwardt, 90, an aviation machinist mate who was torpedo bomber turret gunner and served in the Pacific theater from 1943-46.

Korean War veteran Eva Tallon said her Honor Flight experience in October “was really a trip of a lifetime for a veteran.”

“It was such a touching experience. I had a lot of people to remember there,” said Tallon, a longtime Las Vegas resident who served as an Army Medical Corps surgical technician in Japan from 1953-54, where many Korean War casualties were treated.

The family of late philanthropist Ralph Englestad, who owned Imperial Palace and co-developed Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has donated millions of dollars to support scholarships at UNLV and other causes such as Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas and Opportunity Village.

Honor Flight Southern Nevada was founded in 2013 as a part of the national Honor Flight Network to honor America’s veterans for their sacrifices.

Contact Keith Rogers at krogers@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308. Find him on Twitter: @KeithRogers2