What is new for Northwoods Drifter in 2026
Around 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, hundreds of neighbors stood on the tarmac at Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, waving flags and holding handmade signs. They’d waited hours past bedtime, but nobody was leaving until the buses rolled in.
The 55th Never Forgotten Honor Flight had finally made it home.
What started as a bumpy Tuesday morning departure turned into a 22-hour odyssey for 55+ veterans from our corner of Wisconsin. Mechanical delays bookended their journey — first postponing the original flight date, then stranding them at Reagan National Airport for nearly four extra hours. But if you ask anyone who was there, they’ll tell you the same thing: those obstacles didn’t diminish a single moment.
The alarm clocks went off early Tuesday across Marathon, Lincoln, Oneida, and surrounding counties. Veterans who’d applied years ago — some waiting since 2023 on lengthy waitlists — were finally wheels up.
Never Forgotten Honor Flight, the Wausau-based nonprofit that’s flown over 50 missions since 2009, prioritizes terminally ill vets first, then those who served before May 7, 1975. That means World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam veterans get their chance to visit the memorials built in their honor.
The 5:45 a.m. departure brought cheers from volunteers and guardians who’d gathered for pre-flight photos. By mid-morning, they’d touched down in Virginia to applause from fellow travelers at Reagan National — the kind of welcome home many never received decades ago.
Their first stop hit hard. The Marine Corps Memorial — that iconic bronze sculpture of six Marines raising the flag on Iwo Jima — served as the backdrop for honoring Donald Sleeter, the flight’s only World War II veteran.
At 100 years old or close to it, Sleeter stood where history and memory collide. The 78-foot monument towers over Virginia hillsides, and for a moment, 1945 didn’t feel so far away.
Next came Arlington National Cemetery, where precision and reverence define every step. The Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier happens every hour on the hour, 365 days a year. Twenty-one measured steps, a rifle inspection so crisp you can hear the click — it’s a ceremony that stops conversation and straightens backs.
For Vietnam vets on this flight, Arlington’s endless rows of white headstones held names they recognized. Brothers in arms who didn’t make it home.
The group rolled into the heart of Washington D.C. by early afternoon, buses threading through traffic toward the National Mall. In front of the Lincoln Memorial — with its 19-foot marble statue and that famous view down the Reflecting Pool — they gathered for the obligatory group photo.
But then came something unplanned and deeply moving. A ceremony honoring a Lincoln County veteran who’d passed before his flight date arrived. His son, Todd Nicklaus, stood before the group to pay tribute to his father Ron, voice steady but eyes wet.
“This trip isn’t just for the veterans who make it here. It’s for the ones who waited too long, and for the families who carry their stories forward.”
Many then walked to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, where 58,000+ names are etched into black granite. Fingers traced letters. Photos were taken of specific panels. Nobody rushed this part.
The Korean War Veterans Memorial and World War II Memorial rounded out the Mall visits, each site sparking different conversations, different memories. One vet pointed out his unit’s insignia. Another just stood quiet, taking it all in.
Never Forgotten Honor Flight follows a carefully planned itinerary that hits the major memorials in a single day. Here’s what every mission includes:
The pace is brisk but intentional. These men are in their 70s, 80s, even 90s. Volunteer guardians — one assigned to each vet or pair — keep things moving while allowing space for reflection.
Back at Reagan Airport that evening, the group learned their plane had mechanical issues. What should’ve been an 8 p.m. departure stretched to nearly midnight. Four hours of sitting at the gate, watching the clock tick past bedtimes and into tomorrow.
But here’s the thing about veterans: they know how to wait. And they know how to tell stories.
Strangers at the gate stopped to shake hands and say thank you. Airport staff brought extra chairs. The guardians made sure nobody went hungry. And the vets? They swapped tales about boot camp, about cold nights in Korea, about jungle patrols in Vietnam.
When they finally boarded around midnight and touched down in Mosinee at 3 a.m., exhaustion should’ve won. Instead, stepping off that plane to hundreds of cheering neighbors felt like the standing ovation they’d earned 50 years late.
Never Forgotten Honor Flight runs on 100% private donations — no government funding, no grants. Each mission costs upwards of $50,000 when you factor in charter planes, buses, meals, and coordination.
The nonprofit flies four times a year (April, May, September, October) from Central Wisconsin Airport. Applications come from across the region: Wausau, Merrill, Tomahawk, Wisconsin Rapids, Rhinelander, and deeper into the Northwoods.
As of March 2026, the waitlist showed hundreds of names. Vietnam vets now in their late 70s. Korean War vets pushing 90. The few remaining World War II veterans get priority, but time isn’t on anyone’s side.
Community fundraisers, individual donations, and volunteer guardians who pay their own way — that’s what keeps the wheels turning. You can support the mission through their website or by mailing checks to 225780 Rib Mountain Drive #234, Wausau, WI 54401.
There’s something about watching a 90-year-old man stand straighter when a stranger thanks him for his service. Or seeing a Vietnam vet finally get the parade he never had in 1972.
Never Forgotten Honor Flight isn’t really about monuments and memorials, though those matter. It’s about recognition. It’s about a community saying: we see you, we remember, and we’re grateful.
The welcome-home gatherings at Central Wisconsin Airport have become legendary. Families bring their kids to wave flags at 3 a.m. Local musicians play patriotic songs. Veterans who flew on previous missions show up to welcome the newest returnees.
For those 55 vets who finally made it to D.C. this week — past delays, mechanical issues, and middle-of-the-night arrivals — that moment on the Mosinee tarmac might’ve meant just as much as standing at the Vietnam Wall.
If you know a veteran who served before May 1975 and hasn’t taken this trip, encourage them to apply. The waitlist is long, but every name on it represents a story that deserves this kind of homecoming.
Written by
Mike has been coming up or living in the Northwoods since his childhood. He is also an avid outdoorsman, writer and supper club aficionado.
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