With two successful journeys behind it, Honor Flight of the Quad-Cities now will make back-to-back flights in October.

At a news conference Thursday at the Quad-City International Airport, the Honor Flight chapter announced it will fly two groups of World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., on Oct. 9 and 10. In all, about 200 veterans and 120 guardians from across the Quad-City area will participate in the two trips.

Offering back-to-back flights is an efficient and economical way to expand the flights, said Bob Morrison, the hub director.

"First, it allows us to serve two times the amount of veterans, so they can get to D.C. to see their memorials,'' Morrison said. "Second, it allows us to keep the wheelchairs aboard the aircraft, keep the aircraft on the ground overnight, schedule the same buses two days in a row, and essentially just repeat the

itinerary."

A Sun Country charter flight will leave the morning of Oct. 9 and return late that evening. The same plane then will head back to Washington on Oct. 10 with the second Honor Flight and return late that day.

While the full-packed day trips are long and tiring for the veterans, who are in their 80s and 90s, Morrison said flights two days in a row will be tough on the Honor Flight board members, too.

"We'll take one flight out Friday, come back, take a short nap, and go back out Saturday,'' he said.

According to Morrison, using the same plane will save $10,000 on the total cost. Each flight typically costs $90,000.

He added that the Oct. 10 flight - which already had been scheduled - is paid for, but the chapter still is raising funds to cover part of the Oct. 9 flight, which was recently added to the lineup.

With each Honor Flight, the veterans travel for free, and the volunteer guardians who escort them pay $550 to participate. Their payments help defray the flight's cost.

Morrison and the board are pleased that doubling up the trips will take

200 veterans off their waiting list that now numbers 500 veterans and still is growing. These will mark the third and fourth flights for Quad-City Honor Flight.

"The word 'urgency' is understated," he said, adding that the advanced age of the veterans makes it critical to provide the flights as quickly as possible. "It's a finite amount of time we have because after a certain amount of time, there won't be any more World War II veterans to send."

It was a year ago today that the chapter announced the local Honor Flight, which is part of a national effort. Initially, the chapter hoped to raise enough money to put a flight in the air April 15, 2009. But successful fundraising and widespread community support moved the first flight up to Nov. 1, 2008, followed by a second flight on April 15.

While large donations from veteran groups, area businesses and organizations provided the seed money for each flight, smaller grassroots efforts keep the money coming in, Morrison said.

"It's now reaching outside the Quad-Cities," he said, describing how he received a call on the way to the news conference about a $1,000 donation from an individual in Whiteside County, Ill. Residents there are busy organizing to collect funds and recruit veterans to join the Quad-City Honor Flight.

In addition, John DeDoncker, president of the Scott County Regional Authority, which holds the Isle of Capri's gaming license, was on hand to present Honor Flight with a $20,000 pledge for the upcoming flight.

"This was an easy one," he said of the decision to award the grant. "It's unbelievable the outpouring the Quad-Cities has had for Honor Flight. We're very happy to be part of this event … and pay homage to these great

veterans."