Despite the government shutdown temporarily closing war memorials, a nonprofit organization has gained access for war veterans in Upstate New York.

The organization, Honor Flight Syracuse, raises money to take veterans to war memorials free of charge. The Syracuse University Student Veterans Organization had donated $1,000 for the nonprofit group in September for these flights to take place. They had held a two-month-long raffle in the spring to raise funds. After another branch of Honor Flight was allowed to go on a similar trip, headquarters notified the Syracuse group that it could do the same.

But the group faced several obstacles in planning for the trip to Washington, D.C., on Saturday, said Randy Flath, president of Honor Flight Syracuse.

While the group originally planned to send veterans to visit the memorials back in April, Flath said, the organization could not get a plane in time. As a result, the trip was rescheduled for Oct. 5, he said.

Then the government shut down on Oct. 1, closing war memorials to the public. Flath said that he and the rest of the organization were distressed about the fact that some of the veterans — some of whom are in their 80s and 90s—would not have time to see their memorials.

“For these guys, it’s a race against time,” he said. “It’s unfortunate, but that’s the reality of life.”

Several veterans who were supposed to fly out on both the April and the October trip had died beforehand, Flath added.

But even after the shutdown, veterans on a similar trip by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Honor Flight went to the memorials, where the barricades were moved so that the veterans could enter the area, according to an Oct. 1 Associated Press article.

After that, Flath said that he then received an email from the Honor Flight headquarters, saying the Syracuse group could do the same.

“That [was] a huge relief,” he said.

Margaret Clevenger, secretary of the SU Student Veterans Organization, said she was not that concerned about the shutdown’s effect of the trip, because she felt the group would find a way.

“It would’ve really been sad if they couldn’t make it,” she said. “It would have been a disappointment because they did so much planning. I’m just glad that it worked out.”

While Flath is glad they were able to go, he said it still bothered him how the polarized dispute between Republicans and Democrats almost prevented the veterans from seeing their memorials, considering that the World War II Memorial was not dedicated until 2004.

“These guys really deserve to have free access to all of these memorials,” Flath said. “This is their chance to see their memorial.”

Published on October 7, 2013 at 12:23 am

Contact Ellen: ekmeyers@syr.edu | @ellenkmeyers