La Crosse, WI (WXOW)-- In about one month Freedom Honor Flights will take another 100 veterans to see the war memorials in Washington, DC.
And in preparation for the flight members of the community have decided to make each vet a hand-crafted gift. Teresa Walter joined a group of women today to make pillow cases for veterans.
One of the veterans on board will be Teresa's 86-year-old father.
"He's always wanted to see the WWII Monument and that was our main goal, to get him there," Teresa said.
All of the pillow cases made today will go to a veteran on flight, and they will come with a card and a message from the person who made the pillow case.
"Having a card written saying just a simple thank you or why you did it, who you did it in honor of, veterans will hold on to that," said Jeannie Bush, who started the event.
Jeannie started the pillow case project for last year's flight in honor of her father, a World War II vet who passed away before the memorial was finished.
"When my father came back from World War II, there was nobody there to greet him," Jeannie said. "And when Freedom Honor Flight started, I thought what a wonderful thing if they had a pillow case to put their heads on at night when the came home."
The red-white-and blue cases mean so much to the veterans, that one of last year's recipients wrote a note to the maker of his pillow case.
"We're trying to thank them for their service to the country, and they can't thank us enough for doing simple little things, like a pillow case," said Barb Erickson, who donated the fabric for the pillow cases.
As for Teresa, if her father gets one of the cases she makes the card will say:
"I'm very happy you get to see a monument that honors you."
The May Freedom Honor Flight will be the ninth one flown out of La Crosse.
