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Most NGAUS members are now eligible to escort Honor Flights of veterans traveling to Washington, D.C., from around the country to visit memorials built to commemorate their service.
Administered by the National Guard Educational Foundation in partnership with the Honor Flight Network, the George and Charlotte Demetriades Guardian Program will cover the costs for association members to accompany veterans visiting the nation’s capital.
Most Honor Flights are one-day trips. The Guardian initiative is open to NGAUS active annual, active-life and digital-life members.
“This program will provide unforgettable experiences,” said retired Maj. Gen. Francis M. McGinn, the NGAUS/NGEF president. “The Guardians will learn what service was like during the Korean and Vietnam War eras. And I’m sure the veterans will be curious about things today. The shared bonds of uniformed service will close the generation gap very quickly.”
Honor Flight started in May 2005 when a retired Air Force captain organized the first trips using private planes to take World War II veterans from Springfield, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to see their memorials.
Today, the Honor Flight Network brings more than 20,000 veterans annually to the nation’s capital. Nearly 50,000 are currently on waitlists to join a flight. Their expenses will be covered by a long list of sponsors. But escorts have historically paid their own way.
Flights are organized by 128 active Honor Flight Hubs across 46 states nationwide. The NGEF will pay the Hub directly from the Guardian Program for space on the plane and on ground transportation in Washington, D.C.
The George and Charlotte Demetriades Guardian Program is underwritten by their son, George Demetriades Jr., who served as an officer in the Maryland and Tennessee Army National Guards. He now owns and operates two Chick-fil-A restaurants in Arlington, Virginia.
George Jr. said he is honoring his late mother, a teacher, and his late father, a former North Carolina National Guard officer, by joining two organizations that “are a big part of my life — the National Guard and Honor Flight.”
“I believe it’s critically important, especially for our younger Guard leaders, to meet and learn from those who came before us,” he said. “And this program will remove the financial barrier for any NGAUS member currently serving in the National Guard to be an Honor Flight Guardian.”
More information about the program, including application procedures and a list of 2026 scheduled Honor Flights, is available here.
—By John Goheen
