What is the Last Frontier Honor Flight?
Last Frontier Honor Flight’s mission is simple: to provide Alaska war veterans with a free trip to Washington, D.C. to visit memorials in order to thank them and honor their service and sacrifice.
LFHF has launched 23 missions sending 528 Alaskan veterans to Washington, D.C. since we were founded in 2012. Our most recent mission was Mission 23, which took place from October 6 – October 10, 2026. We’re actively planning for Mission 24, which will take place between April 20 – April 24, 2027.
LFHF is the only Alaska hub of the Honor Flight Network (HFN). Learn more about HFN, its mission, and other global hubs by visiting www.honorflight.org.
How LFHF Works
- Eligibility: Veterans who have honorably served in any branch of the U.S. military (including the Alaska Territorial Guard) during any war, conflict, or peace‑time period. Priority is given to WWII, Alaska Territorial Guard, Korean War, and terminally ill veterans from any era.
- Trip Format: Each flight is a five‑day journey (typically Tuesday through Saturday) with approximately 24 veterans, accompanied by guardians and mission volunteers.
- Guardians: Every veteran must have a guardian — typically a family member or friend a generation younger. Spouses are not allowed as guardians; if a veteran cannot provide one, LFHF will assign a volunteer guardian to the veteran.
- Funding: All mission costs are covered by donations; no veteran pays for the trip!
The Beginning of LFHF: Shared by Founders Ron & Lynda Travis
“Lynda and I were visiting my mother who was living in assisted living in Republic, Washington, a small town in Eastern Washington. This was in November of 2012. One of the residents at the assisted living was an old family friend and a WWII veteran; he and my Dad were friends and both belonged to the American Legion and were always very active in veteran events. It so happened he had just returned from an Honor Flight out of Spokane, Washington.
He spotted me and was so excited and wanted to tell me all about how honored he was to be asked to go along and visit the memorials, especially the WWII Memorial that was built 60 yrs after WWII was over. He took me to his room and started showing me pictures of all the memorials they had visited, and the recognition he was given, and the number of hands he shook. He mentioned how much my Dad, who was also a WWII Navy Veteran, would have loved to be able to go along, but had passed away several years earlier.
We stayed almost a week with my Mom visiting; each day when he would see me he had more pictures to share and stories to tell. Each time, there were tears in his eyes, he couldn’t express how much it meant to him. When we left to come back to Alaska, Lynda and I were determined to find our local hub in Alaska and sign up to help out. We couldn’t imagine that Alaska would not have one, being that Alaska has more veterans per capita than any other state.
When we got back to Big Lake, Alaska, I started looking online for an address or contact information. I ended up at the Honor flight Network home page; it showed all the honor flight hubs around the US. Alaska was missing from the map. I called the new hub coordinator listed in Atlanta Georgia, after talking to him for a half an hour, realizing that there in fact was not a hub in Alaska, he offered to send me a packet to look over and see how to go about setting up a hub, non-profit and other details. His last words to me were, “If you decide to take this on it will change your life.”
Wow! That was an understatement. We received the packet, and Lynda and I called a few friends who we knew would be enthusiastic. In January 2013 we had a meeting and all agreed to give it a go; we set our goal for the first flight for October 2013. Glad to report we are still going strong; the talent and dedication of our volunteers is hard to put into words.”
He spotted me and was so excited and wanted to tell me all about how honored he was to be asked to go along and visit the memorials, especially the WWII Memorial that was built 60 yrs after WWII was over. He took me to his room and started showing me pictures of all the memorials they had visited, and the recognition he was given, and the number of hands he shook. He mentioned how much my Dad, who was also a WWII Navy Veteran, would have loved to be able to go along, but had passed away several years earlier.
We stayed almost a week with my Mom visiting; each day when he would see me he had more pictures to share and stories to tell. Each time, there were tears in his eyes, he couldn’t express how much it meant to him. When we left to come back to Alaska, Lynda and I were determined to find our local hub in Alaska and sign up to help out. We couldn’t imagine that Alaska would not have one, being that Alaska has more veterans per capita than any other state.
When we got back to Big Lake, Alaska, I started looking online for an address or contact information. I ended up at the Honor flight Network home page; it showed all the honor flight hubs around the US. Alaska was missing from the map. I called the new hub coordinator listed in Atlanta Georgia, after talking to him for a half an hour, realizing that there in fact was not a hub in Alaska, he offered to send me a packet to look over and see how to go about setting up a hub, non-profit and other details. His last words to me were, “If you decide to take this on it will change your life.”
Wow! That was an understatement. We received the packet, and Lynda and I called a few friends who we knew would be enthusiastic. In January 2013 we had a meeting and all agreed to give it a go; we set our goal for the first flight for October 2013. Glad to report we are still going strong; the talent and dedication of our volunteers is hard to put into words.”