Prairie View Honor Flight group set to travel to Washington D.C.

Veterans and student guardians from Prairiie View High School slated to fly to Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for a whirlwind two-day Honor Flight trip include, front row from left, Jewel Mowrey, Gabriella Davis, Rhett Pope, Jesse Minkler, Lauren Steenburgen; back row, Kyle Littrell, Terry Davis, Jim Wilson, Alvin Stites, and Braden Shrum. (Corissa Uphoff / Special to the Journal)

By Roger Sims, rsims@linncountyjournal.com

LA CYGNE – Five veterans, five student "guardians" and a couple of sponsors are set to fly to Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, April 15, to tour memorials at the nation's capital. The group, which is this year's Honor Flight contingent sponsored by Prairie View High School, will return to La Cygne the following evening after a whirlwind tour, a dinner in their honor and warm receptions at airports when they land.

Student guardians Rhett Pope, from left, and Jewel Mowrey receive a check from Sherry Schmitz and Wendy Kinder during at a basketball game last December. SS and Kinder are family members. of the late Ralph Nickell, a Parker man who had immense pride in his service in the U.S. Navy. The family hosts a roping event every year and for the third year in a row has raised $2,000 at the event to donate to Prairie View's Honor Flight program. (Roger Sims / Linn County Journal)

The veterans include Kyle Littrell, Terry Davis, Jim Wilson, Alvin Stites and Jesse Minkler. Student guardians include Jewel Mowrey, Gabriella Davis, Rhett Pope, Braden Shrum and Lauren Steenburgen.

They will join veterans and student guardians sponsored by Osawatomie, Central Heights, Flint Hills, Northern Heights and Lyndon high schools.

Each guardian is assigned to assist a veteran during each phase of the trip. In some cases that may include things like helping veterans overcome mobility issues and other assistance in helping make the trip enjoyable and memorable.

Following the past two trips, veterans and guardians alike have commented about how they had bonded during the experience and how the guardians better understood how the veterans experience military service.

Corissa Uphoff, one of the Prairie View staff sponsors, said the group is expected to return to Prairie View High School about 8 p.m. or so on Wednesday, April 16.