By SAVANNAH BARR

s.barr@bradfordera.com

Buffalo-Niagara Honor Flight is looking for sponsors for its first all-female mission.

This October, 40 women veterans and their female guardians from Bradford and Western New York will land in Washington, DC, for a two-day trip. During their adventure, they will lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and receive special recognition at the Military Women’s Memorial. They will also visit a slew of other memorials and monuments that have been erected in their honor.

‘We try to do activities that show our respect for them,’ said Donna Quigley, treasurer. Sometimes we have groups of school children who come out to meet us and shake their hands; things like that.’

Buffalo-Niagara Honor Flight hosts three trips a year. Usually, their flights are open to both male and female veterans. But for this trip they decided to do something different.

‘If you look back over our pictures, you will see a lot of males who have attended in the past,’ said Quigley. ‘On our last flight we did have one woman who attended and we decided it would be great to have a female-centric flight this time around.’

This all-female flight was partly inspired by the book ‘The Women’ by Kristin Hannah.

‘That book was kind of our mantra,’ said Quigley.

The novel highlights the story of a military nurse during her harrowing experiences in the Vietnam War and her subsequent reentry into civilian life.

‘Many of our veterans are from Vietnam and they didn’t get the welcome home that they deserve,’ said Quigley. ‘We hope that this helps bring them some closure.’

The group is hoping to attract 25 to 40 female veterans from WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

‘We are asking all female veterans to apply

Honor… pageA-8

Stephanie Scrivo escorts her grandfather, Raymond Kleisath, through welcoming crowds during a parade held at Bradford Area High School to honor veterans.

Era file photo because this is our first time doing this and it would be good to have those applications on file to see what the response is,” said Quigley. “If we don’t get our 35 to 40 priority veterans then we will take those of all ages who have applied.”

The group is also seeking women-owned businesses to help underwrite the costs of the journey.

“It costs about $75,000 including the airline, hotel, meals, gear and transportation,” said Quigley.

“Our costs have risen significantly since covid.”

Sponsorships are available at different levels, ranging from $500 to $50,000. Those who donate at certain levels will be able to accompany the veterans on their journey. Also flying will be a support staff including nurses, tour guides, airline professionals and a mental health counselor. Veterans are also able to bring along a guardian of their choice.

Quigley noted that all support staff are volunteers.

“The money donated goes directly to supporting our mission, not to paying salaries,” Quigley said.

Those who would like to apply can contact Mary Piekart at maryp@buffaloniagarahonorflight. org or (716) 430-0634.

Those who would like to sponsor should contact Quigley at donna@buffaloniagarahonorflight. org or (716) 812-3471.

There are also applications available for both veterans and sponsors at buffaloniagarahonorflight. org.