About Us

The Honor Flight program was conceived by Earl Morse, a Physician Assistant and Retired Air Force Captain, to honor veterans he has taken care of for the past 27 years. Honor Flight originated in Ohio in May 2005 with six small planes flying 12 WW II veterans from Springfield to Washington, D.C..  In 2006, with a waiting list of veterans expanding rapidly, commercial airline carriers were used to accommodate as many veterans as possible, as quickly as possible.  Partnering with HonorAir in Hendersonville, North Carolina and Hero Flight in Provo, Utah, the “Honor Flight Network”  was formed and began aggressively expanding programs to other cities across the nation.

Honor Flight Birmingham, a hub affiliated with the national network, was founded by co-directors Pam Nichols, Marketing Officer of Noland Health Services, a Birmingham, Alabama based company specializing in long term acute care hospitals and senior living communities; and Amy McDonald, a history teacher with Shades Valley High School, a part of the Jefferson County Alabama School System. With the help of dedicated volunteers and donors who share the vision, Honor Flight Birmingham came to fruition in 2007, with its inaugural flight  in spring 2008. Noland Health Services is the founding sponsor, fully funding the hub’s first flight. In April 2008, to further its fund raising and veteran recruitment efforts Honor Flight Birmingham became a program of American Legion Department of Alabama.