(AP) — Efforts to fly more Nebraska veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit the Korean War and other memorials have taken an $80,000 hit.
Bill Williams, of Patriotic Productions in Omaha, says a donor has reduced his pledge to $20,000 from $100,000. So Williams is issuing another call for donations to help around 440 veterans make the trip.
Williams has chartered three jets to carry the vets, family members and volunteer guardians to the nation’s capital on March 25. They’ll visit the memorials and take in other sights on their all-expenses-paid journey, returning that evening to a hero’s welcome in Omaha. He organized a similar trip in October for 135 veterans.
The total cost is about $471,000. Williams says the planes are paid for, but the $80,000 is needed for other expenses.