Rocky Mountain Honor Flight celebrates veterans, helps with closure
Jim Adams waited outside a gathering hall where lunch was about to be served to 30 military veterans, including Jim. He looked fit and healthy and offered a firm handshake as he introduced himself. It was hard to imagine that nearly 60 years had passed since Jim was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.
“I was only 17 when I went to boot camp,” he said. Growing up in a military family, he had been proud to leave for basic training and ready to serve his country back then.
Once he deployed to Vietnam, Jim reported to an Army intelligence unit in the 23rd Infantry Division. He saw combat during his tour in 1968 and 1969 and lost several close friends in the horrors of jungle warfare. When Jim finally came home, he landed in San Francisco at the height of the anti-war movement. He never received a hero’s welcome — was never thanked for his service. Instead, he was met with disgust and called a baby killer.
“We were just kids when we went over,” he said of his platoon, most of them fresh out of high school. “We all did our duty and lost our childhood innocence in the process. We tried to make some semblance of a normal life when we came back home.”
But nothing was normal for Jim after Vietnam. Wracked by survivor’s guilt and battling severe PTSD, the experience scarred him for life.
“There’s been a hole in my heart, an abyss so deep, I thought nothing would ever bridge it,” Jim said of his invisible war wound — a pain compounded by the death of his first wife, his childhood sweetheart. “I thought I would never heal. That’s the only way I know how to describe it, as having a hole in my heart.”
Jim spent his entire adult life living like this. But in recent years, with the love and support of his children and second wife, he began looking for ways to heal.
Jim became a member of the honor guard for American Legion Post 22 in Northglenn, providing military funeral honors for veterans at Fort Logan National Cemetery. It was a way to show his respect and give back to veterans and their families, he explained — to find a modicum of peace. But with each flag he folded at a burial, Jim couldn’t help but think about his own mortality.
“The reality is, I’m in the twilight of my life now,” he said. Time is precious, and something still felt unfinished to the Vietnam veteran.
When Jim heard about Rocky Mountain Honor Flight — a Denver nonprofit that takes veterans to visit military monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. — he thought it might be the answer.
He had been to D.C. before, but he would never go to the wall, Jim said of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “It was too hard to see the names of my friends there.”
Yet, his need to honor them, to say a proper goodbye, eventually overruled any lingering hesitation. In 2024, he applied to Rocky Mountain Honor Flight to finally face the wall and his past and redefine his concept of “tour of duty.” After a year on the waitlist, Jim was offered a seat on a 2025 flight.
When asked what the upcoming trip to D.C. would mean to him, Jim looked away, his eyes welling with tears. He took a moment to compose himself.
“It’s time,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s time to visit some old friends.”
On a Mission
Founded in 2007, Rocky Mountain Honor Flight provides veterans with an all-expenses-paid trip to the nation’s capital as an expression of gratitude for their military service and sacrifice. As one of 130 hubs in the national Honor Flight Network, Rocky Mountain Honor Flight celebrated its 50th flight in April, which represented over 1,500 veterans served in its nearly 20-year program.
Terry Garner was never in the military, but his father served in World War II, so veterans’ causes have always been close to Terry’s heart. After his dad died, Terry applied to become a guardian — chaperone — for Rocky Mountain Honor Flight. He was on a mission to help other veterans make this trip of a lifetime — a trip his dad was never able to take.
Volunteer guardians and medical personnel ensure a safe journey for veterans on each Honor Flight. The program covers all meals, lodging, and travel, including round-trip airfare and chartered bus service while in Washington, D.C. All funding comes from individual and corporate donations and grants.
Terry said he was so impressed by how the organization ran its business, how things went on that first trip, and what they did for the vets that he vowed to become more involved with the nonprofit. Today, he’s treasurer of Rocky Mountain Honor Flight and a member of its board.
“Our mission is to give veterans the recognition and the thank-yous they’ve earned. That’s our whole reason for existence,” Terry said.
Rocky Mountain Honor Flight serves veterans from practically anywhere, not just the Denver area. “We’ve taken vets from all over Colorado, and from Wyoming, Nebraska, even South Dakota,” Terry said. “And they don’t need to have combat experience to apply.”
The nonprofit can accommodate 30 veterans per trip, four flights per year, with priority given to WWII, Korea, and Vietnam veterans and the terminally ill.
The program is so popular that there are two other Honor Flight hubs in Colorado: High Plains Honor Flight in the Fort Collins-Greeley area, and Honor Flight of Southern Colorado based in Colorado Springs. Each has its own unique trip format, Terry explained, and veterans can apply to a hub that’s closer to home or that offers a program that’s right for them. Whichever hub a veteran chooses, older veterans are encouraged to apply sooner than later. “We add you to our list in the order received.”
Terry said Honor Flights are more than just thanking veterans. “A great part of the program is that vets can connect with other vets who have walked in their shoes. They can tell their own stories and share experiences. That’s where a lot of the healing comes from.”
Making Meaningful Connections
That’s a big reason why Liz Fiddes, former director of member services and education for the Colorado Rural Electric Association, volunteers her time with Rocky Mountain Honor Flight. She’s seen healing and connection happen firsthand.
“When I worked for CREA, I would take a group of high school students from our co-op service territories to Washington, D.C., every year. We’d spend a week in D.C. where the kids could meet their members of Congress, learn about government, and visit museums and memorials,” Liz explained. “During these trips, we would run into Honor Flight [veterans] from time to time at the military memorials.”
One experience at the World War II Memorial stood out for Liz. “We saw some Honor Flight vets coming toward us. The kids lined up on both sides of the walkway and just clapped for these guys as they came through.” The emotional encounter left a lasting impression on the students, the veterans, and Liz.
“Our kids got down on their knees to talk to the guys in wheelchairs. It just did my heart good to see the connection.” She’s been volunteering with Rocky Mountain Honor Flight since retiring from CREA two years ago.
Finding Closure
Home from his recent trip to D.C. with Rocky Mountain Honor Flight, Jim was exhilarated.
“It was excellent,” he said of the experience. “Quite the emotional trip, but in a good way.”
When asked if he would recommend Rocky Mountain Honor Flight to other veterans, Jim replied, “100%, especially for veterans left with a bad taste in their mouth from their time in the military. I was a lucky guy to get to go on this trip.”
He added, “When we left Denver, and landed in Maryland, we were greeted by so many people who cared — all wishing us well. It was the welcome home I always wish I had.”
The changing of the guard at Arlington National Cemetery was another highlight for Jim and his fellow travelers. “Every time they walked past us vets, they clicked their heels as a sign of respect.”
When he described his time at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Jim struggled to put it into words.
“I used to ask, ‘Why them, not me?’” he said of his fallen comrades. “But I’m learning to put that behind me now.”
The trip with Rocky Mountain Honor Flight surprised Jim in more ways than one. “I thought I was visiting my old friends for the last time,” he said of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. “I took a picture of their names. But when I look at those photos now, back home, I can see the reflection of me in the wall with my friends. They are with me, I’m with them.”
That time of reflection in D.C., and back home in Colorado, did something else Jim doubted would ever happen.
“I feel healed, as much as I can be,” he said. “When I came home, my wife saw a lot of change in me for the better.”
He paused in thought, wanting to get the words right. “It healed the hole that’s been in my heart since Vietnam,” he said in a hopeful voice. “I finally walked out of the jungle, into a calm clearing, after this trip.”
To learn more about Rocky Mountain Honor Flight, make a donation, or apply to be part of a future trip to Washington, D.C., go online to rockymountainhonorflight.org
Becky Jensen is a writer who lives and works in a little cabin on a big river in northern Colorado. She’s also a proud member of Poudre Valley REA. You can find her at beckyjensenwrites.com
