Welcome to Elsie Honors
Elsie Honors Mission 15: Accomplished! Thank you all for your support!
Elsie Honors follows a young lady with big dreams. Since August 2017, our Patriotic Princess, Elsie Van Beek, has had the privilege of meeting over 1,300 of our Veterans to say Thank You. She gives each a special personalized dog tag to commemorate their specific flight when they return to Sioux Falls. She wanted to pay it even further and sponsored a flight at the "Medal of Honor Flight" level of $50,000. She started this goal, at the age of 13, after her older brother, the CEO of Midwest Honor Flight, said she could go on a flight if she sponsored it. In June 2021, Elsie Honors was created. Primarily, she raised her funds through baking and selling cupcakes. In February 2023, she reached her first goal of $50,000 to get naming rights of the flight. After, she increased her goal to $85,000 to not only get naming rights of the flight but sponsor all 83 Veterans that went on her sponsored flight. She reached this milestone the day before her flight took off.
Her flight took off from Sioux Falls on May 31, 2023 known as the Elsie Honors Mission 15. Elsie had the opportunity to go on this flight and not only see where the money she raised went, she also was able to spend the entire day meeting all the Veterans that benefited from her flight. Veterans had the opportunity to see Arlington National Cemetery to witness the Changing of the Guards along with time at each of the memorials: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lincoln, Navy, Air Force, and Iwo Jima.
Soon after the flight, Elsie realized how important this day is for our Veterans and has decided to tie in her Eagle Scout project with supporting more Veterans traveling on future flights. "Please help me rewrite this final chapter of their lives. Our American Veterans deserve nothing less. Equal priority is given to any terminally ill veteran who has never visited their Memorials. If America thought it was important to build a memorial to their service and sacrifice, Midwest Honor Flight believes it’s important for them to visit their memorial before it’s too late."
Her flight took off from Sioux Falls on May 31, 2023 known as the Elsie Honors Mission 15. Elsie had the opportunity to go on this flight and not only see where the money she raised went, she also was able to spend the entire day meeting all the Veterans that benefited from her flight. Veterans had the opportunity to see Arlington National Cemetery to witness the Changing of the Guards along with time at each of the memorials: WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Lincoln, Navy, Air Force, and Iwo Jima.
Soon after the flight, Elsie realized how important this day is for our Veterans and has decided to tie in her Eagle Scout project with supporting more Veterans traveling on future flights. "Please help me rewrite this final chapter of their lives. Our American Veterans deserve nothing less. Equal priority is given to any terminally ill veteran who has never visited their Memorials. If America thought it was important to build a memorial to their service and sacrifice, Midwest Honor Flight believes it’s important for them to visit their memorial before it’s too late."
