Cary-Grove senior Josh Katz spent four days getting to know Karl Nave, a 92-year-old Army veteran, while serving as a guardian for Honor Flight and visiting memorials, monuments, and museums in Washington, D.C., in August. Guardians play an important role as a companion throughout the trip and provide physical support to veterans at airports and each stop in Washington, D.C. 

“Being with veterans on this trip was a unique experience because, as volunteers, we were able to closely see the impact that serving in the military had on each veteran’s life many years later,” said Josh Katz. “It showed me how each veteran had a unique perspective on their service and had the chance to share that with people who could easily relate to and understand them throughout the trip.” 

Katz became involved with the Honor Flight Network by volunteering with the Veterans Network Committee (VNC) of Northern Illinois. The VNC is a nonprofit veterans organization that serves veterans and their families through donations, monthly events, and partnering with Honor Flight to plan annual trips.

“It was an honor to be with Karl on this trip and to spend time with him,” said Josh Katz. He enjoyed being able to interact with other veterans and was a great person to be paired with while visiting museums and landmarks across D.C.”

On the final night of the trip, veterans receive ‘Mail Call,’ where they are presented with a packet of letters written by family or friends who want to provide notes of thanks and appreciation for their service and sacrifice. Honor Flight encourages people or organizations to write letters to veterans to share their gratitude. 

Students in three of Hannah Bollman’s world studies classes at Cary-Grove wrote letters for the veterans as part of a class assignment. Students watched a short video on ‘Mail Call’ and were assigned veterans to write letters of gratitude.

“I was very impressed by the effort and thoughtfulness the students showed in writing letters to the Honor Flight veterans," said Hannah Bollman, social science teacher. "Several students shared stories and messages about veterans in their families while others shared the deep gratitude they had for the service and sacrifice of the person they wrote to.