Hudson Valley Honor Flight is helping fly WWII veterans to Washington, D.C. for day trips to various national monuments.

It’s been 70 years now since the U.S. officially entered WWII, after declaring war on Japan the day after Pearl Harbor in 1941.

More than 16 million Americans served in World War II. Various estimates figure that veterans from that worldwide conflagration are passing away at the rate of some 500 to 700 per day.

Review the Hudson Valley Honor Flight Veteran Application online here. Online Guardian applications are available here.

Hudson Valley Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

Hudson Valley Honor Flight (HVHF), part of the Honor Flight Network, is a non-profit organization that has a core mission to fly WWII veterans in the Hudson Valley to Washington, D.C. to visit the various war memorials — at no cost. HVHF is in the midst of reaching out to local communities to organize two veteran flights scheduled for Saturday, April 11 out of Stewart International Airport and Saturday, May 9 out of Westchester County Airport.

Hudson Valley Honor Flight covers the cost of the participating veterans for what will be a day trip to Washington, D.C., with top priority going to WWII vets and thos with terminal illnesses. Each veteran will be assigned a guardian for the trip – guardians can be a family member. The cost to be a guardian is $400 (though Sloatsburg will cover this expense for village vets).

HVHF serves Orange, Ulster (NY), Sullivan (NY), Putnam (NY), Rockland(NY), Bergen (NJ), Pike (PA), and Fairfield (CT).

Sloatsburg currently has eight living veterans, including Village Historian Harrison Bush, Sidney Gettenberg, George Heller, Elizabeth Lahm, Alexander Massaro, Peter Paradossi, August Stritmater, Sr., and Robert Wagonhoffer.

Sloatsburg Mayor Carl said he is excited about the HVHF program because it gives veterans from WWII the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. for a day and experience the memorials in person. The village has sent out letters to all of its local WWII veterans inquiring about their interest and ability to participate.

Wright would like to get Sloatsburg vets at the top of the list for one of the spring flights. To do that, interested veterans must fill out an application and obtain a guardian — Sloatsburg and the HVHF group will help with that part of the equation.

Visit Hudson Vally Honor Flights site for additional information and faqs.

Mayor Wright said that at this time the village will work with HVHF and local sponsors and cover the cost of those guardians accompanying Sloatsburg veterans.