Honor Flight to take off from former Castle Air Force Base

ATWATER, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the first time in their history, the Central Valley Honor Flight is flying World War II veterans out of the former Castle Air Force Base to Washington, D.C.

The honorary all-expenses-paid trip takes veterans from the Central Valley to several memorials and monuments in the nation's capital. But the October trip will be the first time they're flying veterans out of the historic closed base in Atwater.

The last-minute flight addition allows 75 more war heroes, who originally would've had to wait until 2015, to make the trip.

"Emotions run pretty high. The gratitude is unbelievable, that people would make this arrangement for us," said Phillip Hauck, a World War II veteran.

The Central Valley Honor Flight is a volunteer organization funded by donations. It costs roughly $1,500 to take each veteran to the East Coast.