Army 1st Sergeant (Ret.) Walter S. Johnson, of Yukon, took a trip of a lifetime when he joined other United States military veterans on a trip to the nation’s capital on Oct.1, 2024 on the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight.
And now Johnson is spreading the word to other veterans interested in taking an Honor Flight.
The Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight is a volunteer-driven program that flies Oklahoma veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit their war memorials at no cost, honoring their service and sacrifices.
Veterans on the Honor Flight visit key memorials, including the U.S. Marine War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the Vietnam, Korean, and World War II Memorials.
“I was very humbled, grateful, and honored,” Johnson said. “The Honor Flights are a 501(c)(3) organization of volunteers that schedule flights every year. The trip is free, which covers everything. Costs are covered by donations, corporate sponsors, grants, and fundraisers. The Honor Flight Network has 129 hubs in 44 states.”
According to the Tulsa Beacon website www.tulsabeacon.com, on Oct. 7, 2025, 67 Oklahoma veterans participated in the Honor Flight, including 62 Vietnam War veterans, 3 Korean War veterans, and 2 who served in both conflicts. The event included a send-off ceremony at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa and a Welcome Home celebration at Tulsa International Airport, where the public was invited to cheer and honor the returning veterans.
Gov. Kevin Stitt officially proclaimed the day as “Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight Day” in recognition of the veterans and the nonprofit
A Maryland native, Johnson, had a 27-year career with the Maryland State Police. He served three years in the Army.
Johnson traveled with a retired Air Force friend to Tulsa to catch their Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight.
“I traveled to the Tulsa area with my retired Air Force friend to a large hotel for coordination of our Meet and Greet, photos with Miss and Mrs. Oklahoma, dinner and a night’s lodging,” he said. “Our group consisted of 65 veterans, 65 guardians to assist each veteran, nine EMTs, and 10 other support personnel for a total of 149 people. All were volunteers. I was one of nine veterans from the Korean War, and the others were Vietnam veterans.”
Each veteran is accompanied by a guardian, a volunteer responsible for their well-being during the trip. Guardians help with logistics, boarding, security, and ensuring veterans have a safe and memorable experience. The program is entirely volunteer-run, requiring thousands of hours to organize each flight.
Johnson was accompanied on the Honor Flight by Aubrey Thomas.
“He is a veteran and he served as my trip guardian,” Johnson said. “He volunteered as a way to give back to other veterans.”
Johnson said they spent eight hours in Washington D.C. taking a bus tour of all the war memorials, the United States Capitol building, the White House and Arlington National Cemetery.
“We also watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” he said. “I favored this one as it represented the past, present and future. They do that 24 hours, seven days a week, 365 days a year with strength and perseverance. In all our travels people honored and thanked us for our service.”
Johnson said their buses were assisted with large police escorts, always present, front and rear.
“At one point they blocked a four-lane expressway with four police cars as we approached an entry ramp,” he said.
Johnson said before leaving the airport building, a large crowd of about 400 well-wishers greeted them with thank-yous and hugs as a band played with television crews filming their send-off home to Oklahoma.
“On the flight back, support personnel presented each veteran with a manila oval envelope with cards, letters of appreciation from well-wishers from around the country,” Johnson said. “We opened this envelope up and talk about being humbled and grateful and thankful. Just a whole bunch of thank you letters, cards, and little trinkets, all kinds of stuff from people. Not from Oklahoma, but from all over the country. I responded to all of them and thanked them.”
Johnson said feedback from other veterans from his Honor Flight was very positive.
“Their reaction was the same as mine. Very, very grateful, very humbling, just wonderful,” he said. “They’re surprised that it’s not publicized. Nobody knows about it.”
Johnson said he was thankful to be part of such a special journey.
“I’m humbled, grateful, and honored as an American to have been on this trip,” he said. “Thanks to all that made it happen. I encourage all to visit the nation’s capital. Very busy and patriotic visit with other veterans.”
Johnson said the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight will occur in October in Tulsa before another Honor Flight in April 2027 from Oklahoma City.
He said the fall Honor Flights will continue from Tulsa while Oklahoma City will be home for the spring flights.
According to the website www.oklahomawarriors.org, it takes approximately 1,300-1,500 hands-on hours to bring each flight to fruition, and that’s before they get off the ground.
The website states that organizers need help in a variety of areas including pre-flight operations, fundraising and speaker’s bureau, communications, airport logistics, working on various clerical tasks from home, and much more.
Johnson, who does public speaking events, said he talks to people about Honor Flights.
“Veterans need to know about this,” he said. “It’s a wonderful program.”
Veterans interested in participating can apply through the Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight website at www.oklahomawarriors.org. or call Honor Flight Organizer Anthony Balderaz at (405)-669-7589.
Applications can be mailed to Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight, P.O. Box 30605 Edmond, OK 73003 or via email to [email protected] • Story and photos by Van Mitchell, staff writer
