Operation Homefront teams with Honor Flight Network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 26, 2011

OPERATION HOMEFRONT TEAMS WITH HONOR FLIGHT NETWORK TO LAUNCH WORLD WAR II “I SERVED” STICKERS HONORING VETERANS OF THAT CONFLICT 

Partners will distribute newest member of the “I Served” Collection 

San Antonio, Texas – Operation Homefront, the national non-profit that provides emergency financial and other assistance to military families and wounded warriors, is proud to announce its partnership with the Honor Flight Network, another military support non-profit that transports American’s veterans to Washington, DC to visit their respective memorials.  Together these charities will ensure the free distribution of the World War II “I Served” stickers to honor the remaining veterans of that historic conflict.

The “I Served” sticker program originally started in July 2009 as a way to recognize the military men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Due to the overwhelming number of requests, stickers recognizing Vietnam, Desert Storm, Korea and now WWII veterans were added. 

“It started out as a simple concept, a way to say ‘thank you’ for serving our country,” said Jim Knotts, president and CEO of Operation Homefront. “We are committed to continuing to make the stickers readily available for those who served and this partnership helps us more quickly reach an important, fast disappearing group of veterans.”

The Honor Flight Network is a non-profit organization created to transport America's veterans to Washington, DC free of charge to visit those memorials dedicated to honor their service and sacrifices. The organization’s current focus is on World War II veterans, and top priority is given to the senior and terminally-ill vets.  In 2010 the Honor Flight Network transported approximately 22,000 WWII and terminally ill veterans to see their memorials; since its founding in 2005 the organization has transported more than 63,000 veterans.

“Based on recent 2008 statistics, the US is losing World War II Veterans at the rate of approximately 1,000 per day,” explained James McLaughlin, Chairman of The Honor Flight Network. “By linking up with Operation Homefront we can help more completely reach this great generation of veterans who mean so much to all of us who followed them.”

With a common core value of honoring patriotism and service to country, expanding this program is a natural extension of both organizations existing programs. Stickers can also be requested at https://www.operationhomefront.net/iservedstickerorder.aspx 

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About Operation Homefront 

Operation Homefront provides emergency financial and other assistance to the families of our service members and wounded warriors.  A national nonprofit, Operation Homefront leads more than 4,500 volunteers across 25 chapters and has met more than 430,000 needs, worth more than $128 million, since its inception in 2002.  A four-star rated charity by watchdog Charity Navigator, nationally, 94 percent of total revenue donated to Operation Homefront goes to programs.  For more information about Operation Homefront, please visit www.OperationHomefront.net 

About Honor Flight Network 

The Honor Flight Network's (HFN) mission is to honor America’s Veterans by transporting them to Washington, DC to see THEIR memorials honoring their service and the ultimate sacrifices of their friends. HFN will continue do whatever it takes to fulfill the dreams of our veterans and help our senior heroes travel absolutely free to Washington, DC.  Subsequent to the World War II Veterans and all terminally-ill veterans, HFN efforts will focus on Korean War and then Vietnam War Veterans.  HFN's national office has approximately 6,000 WWII Veterans on the waiting list. Time is of the essence for us to honor these heroes!  Additional press information can be found at: http://www.honorflight.org