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Date: 3/22/2022
NORTHAMPTON – The Northampton Veterans Council is currently conducting a feasibility study to determine interest for an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Veterans Day weekend.
According to Steven Connor, the director of Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services, the trip is being conducted through a partnership between the city’s Veterans Council and the Central Hampshire Veterans’ Services District.
The trip will also include transportation to and from the Washington D.C. area, as well as expenses and scheduling for food and overnight accommodations.
According to Connor, the idea for a trip of this nature began around 11 years, when Northampton’s Veterans Council wanted to conduct something similar to the Honor Flight, which is a nonprofit organization that transports U.S. veterans to the respective memorials that they fought in. In the Honor Flight program, however, the trips are usually conducted within one day, which Connor said could be taxing for the veterans. Instead, the two organizations planned a similar type of trip across multiple days.
“The council wanted to do the same thing [as Honor Flight] but decided that they would give the veterans more time,” said Connor, adding that the council brought World War II and Korean War veterans to their respective war memorials during that first journey, but spread the trip out across four days rather than one. “It was such a successful trip,” Connor said. “A lot of those people that went, they came back and said how it was so meaningful to them.”
Before the pandemic, the council and Central Hampshire planned another trip, this time for the Vietnam veterans, but had to postpone it due to COVID-19. Now that the landscape is a little better, the two organizations are looking to re-establish the trip again for these specific veterans, especially since it will be the 40th anniversary of when the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was built.
“We’re just trying to find out how many veterans who would qualify are interested in going so we know what type of fundraising we have to do,” said Connor.
When the World War II trip was conducted 11 years ago, Connor said they were able to raise enough money for the veterans to bring a spouse or a caregiver, but until they know how many people are interested this year, they will not know if they will be able to raise that money again. If they cannot raise money, then the other guests may have to pay a small fee.
To be eligible for the trip, veterans must have served on the ground in Vietnam or served in the Blue Water navy right off the shore. Additionally, the veterans must have been a resident of Northampton at the time they were drafted or enlisted.
Veterans who meet that criterion have until April 1 to call Veteran Services at 587-1299 if they are interested in the trip, or they can email vetadmin@northamptonma.gov.
Veterans must provide their discharge papers as proof of service.
If not enough people show interest by that date, then Connor said they may consider moving the trip to a later time.