Washington Co., Wi – Ten veterans from Washington County, Wi, will be on Saturday’s Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. This will be the 88th “mission” on September 12. It will feature a plane full of Korean War and Vietnam War veterans that will depart Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport for the nation’s capital. This will be the fourth Stars and Stripes Honor Flight of 2026, and the first of the fall flight season.
Vietnam veterans from Washington County include: Joe Petkus, Gene Frank, Phil Peterleus, and Glenn Naumann of West Bend, Neal Seidler, John Lane, John Krause Sr., and Gregory Leafe of Germantown, Orin Tidyman of Hartford, WI, Leo Hanson of Jackson and another veteran who wishes to remain anonymous.
Stars and Stripes Honor Flight’s 88th “mission” will take off on Saturday, September 12 when a plane full of Korean War and Vietnam War veterans will depart Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport for the nation’s capital. This will be the fourth Stars and Stripes Honor Flight of 2026, and the first of the fall flight season.
The Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 aircraft will leave Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport at approximately 6:30 a.m. on flight day, bound for Washington Dulles International Airport with 55 local veterans (and their guardians) on board.
On that day, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will welcome 6 Korean War veterans and 49 veterans of the Vietnam War and Vietnam Era. Among the veterans taking their Stars and Stripes Honor Flight on September 12 are four veterans who served for more than 20 years.
After the planes land in the Washington DC area on flight day, the veterans will board coach buses to tour Washington DC’s WWII Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial Wall, and more. The day will also include viewing the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Veterans’ families and friends, along with members of the community, are encouraged to attend the Homecoming parade at Mitchell Airport that evening. The plane is scheduled to land just after 8 p.m. CT. The Milwaukee Police Band, the Pewaukee High School Varsity Dance Team and the Kettle Moraine High School Varsity Cheer Team will provide spirit for the homecoming festivities.
Prior to the September 12 flight, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight has flown more than 11,300 local veterans on these trips to Washington DC since 2008, and has honored more than 50 veterans locally who were not able to fly. As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff and no offices, the organization is proud to share that $.97 of every donated dollar goes directly to flying and honoring veterans.
Honor Flight is a national program with more than 125 hubs from coast to coast. The WWII Memorial did not open until 2004, and many of our oldest veterans are unable to visit Washington DC without assistance. Nationally, hubs in the Honor Flight Network have taken more than 275,000 veterans to see their memorials.
Timeline of activities for the Saturday, September 12th Stars and Stripes Honor Flight:
5:00 am – Veterans and their guardians begin check in on Mitchell Airport’s main concourse
5:50 am – National Anthem by local vocalist Michelle Haffelder
6:30 am – Flight departs for Dulles Airport; water cannon salute on runway (weather permitting)
9:00 am (ET) – Flight arrives at Dulles Airport, load buses for DC tour
5:30 pm (ET) – Return to Dulles Airport, load plane for departure back to MKE
8:05 pm (CT, approximate) – Return flight lands at Mitchell Int’l Airport, veterans deplane for a parade through the airport’s main concourse. The Milwaukee Police Band, the Pewaukee High School Varsity Dance Team and the Kettle Moraine High School Varsity Cheer Team will provide spirit and entertainment for the Homecoming parade.
