Next weekend, Honor Flight South Georgia makes its third trip to the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

What a trip it has been.

This third Honor Flight trip means more than 300 area and regional World War II veterans will have been given a free trip to the nation’s capital to see the monument built in their honor. Dozens of local folks have paid $300 each for the honor of serving as Guardians charged with assisting these veterans during the trip. Nearly $200,000 in donations has been raised in a little more than a year from mostly Valdosta-Lowndes County individuals, organizations, governments and businesses.

The sterling success of Honor Flight South Georgia belongs to the entire community and several individuals in particular. One of these individuals is Buddy Johnson.

Johnson has been involved with Honor Flight since Bert Powell approached him with the concept in early 2007. As then-president of the local chapter of the Military Officers Association of America, Johnson approved the organization’s participation in Powell’s plan to join the national Honor Flight program.

From there, Johnson and Powell met with individuals, organizations, governments, and anyone who would listen to discuss Honor Flight. When Powell could no longer participate actively in Honor Flight’s fund-raising and planning, Buddy Johnson continued.

Johnson has been so successful with Honor Flight South Georgia that he has been tapped to be a board member of the national Honor Flight board and the director of the national program’s Southeast Honor Flight program. This means Buddy Johnson will help develop this program on a national level and, more specifically, help other Southern communities plan and develop their own Honor Flight programs.

Buddy Johnson is the man for the job. With Powell and other committed volunteers, Johnson had South Georgia’s first group of World War II veterans to D.C. and back in two months after announcing and proposing the concept.

Along with hundreds who have participated throughout South Georgia, Honor Flight is Johnson’s way of saying thank you to our World War II veterans who saved the world more than 60 years ago.

We think folks should thank Buddy Johnson for making Honor Flight possible for South Georgia.