WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Kit Bond today met with 76 World War II veterans from Missouri and Arkansas at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. and thanked them for their service and sacrifice. The veterans are in Washington as part of today’s Ozarks Missouri Honor Flight.

“You know – better than most – that freedom is not free. Each generation must fight anew to secure America’s freedoms. And your generation – the 16 million of the Greatest Generation – fought against freedom’s worst foes of the 20th Century: Hitler, Mussolini, Hirohito,” said Bond. “Thanks to your struggles and sacrifices in faraway places like Normandy, Tunisia, Midway, and Guadalcanal, those of us in subsequent generations have lived in relative peace and prosperity.”

Today’s event kicked off the inaugural trip for the Ozarks Honor Flight. The Ozarks Honor Flight is part of the Honor Flight Network, a non-profit organization that flies World War II veterans – free of charge – to the Nation’s capital to visit and reflect at the World War II Memorial on the National Mall that was dedicated in their honor in 2004. Thanks to this incredible organization World War II veterans from across Missouri have visited Washington, DC. Bond praised the Ozark volunteer organizers and those representing all the uniformed services for bringing this opportunity to our WWII heroes.

The first Honor Flight carried 12 veterans to Washington from Springfield, Ohio in 2005 and the Network estimates that more than 42,000 veterans will have taken part in Honor Flights by the end of 2009. The work of the Honor Flight Network has become increasingly crucial as recent estimates suggest World War II Veterans are dying at a rate of 1,000 per day.

The veterans participating in the Ozarks Honor Flight began their day at 5:00 AM when they arrived at the Springfield-Branson airport to fly to Washington, DC. In addition to visiting the World War II Memorial, the veterans are visiting the Korean, Lincoln, Vietnam, Iwo Jima, and Marine Memorials as well as Arlington National Cemetery before arriving back in Springfield tonight.

The Honor Flight Network operates entirely on private donations currently offers flights from 30 states and expects to offer flights from all 50 states by the end of this year.

Today, Bond told the Honor Flight veterans that the World War II Memorial, was built so that future generations can remember their sacrifices, “the Memorial will ensure that future generations never forget the cost of freedom, and the miracles that the American spirit makes possible. As younger Americans visit, they will have the opportunity to remember those who have fought and died and to reflect upon those sacrifices,” said Bond.