We all need to do what we can to help the American Legion Post 11 and the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office say thank you to all our World War II veterans.

The Pickens County Honor Flight project aims to fly all our WWII vets to Washington, D.C. to visit the World War II memorial.

That’s an ambitious goal, but we also think it’s a wonderful one.

What a great way to say thank you to The Greatest Generation.

Pickens County has a proud history of service to our country, with more Medal of Honor winners per capita than any other area in the nation.

Many World War II veterans did not seek out thanks when they returned from war.

They just wanted to go back home, start families and forget about some of the things they’d seen “Over There.”

We don’t thank all our veterans nearly enough, from those retired from duty to those currently serving overseas, but it is especially important that we thank those who served in World War II before it is too late.

We lose WWII veterans at a rate of 1,200 to 1,500 a day.

That’s 1,200 – 1,500 heartfelt expressions of thanks that we’ll never get to offer these brave soldiers.

Our World War I vets are all but gone. 107-year-old Frank Buckles is the last living American veteran of World War I. We’ll never get a chance to personally thank those who fought in The Great War.

That’s why we should seize this opportunity while we still can. Many of our WWII vets are in poor health, or could never afford the trip to Washington themselves.

That’s why the Honor Flight project is such a worthy cause. The flight and the entire day in Washington will cost our veterans nothing.

After all, they already paid their way in Europe, in the Pacific, with their blood and sweat, with their heroic actions.

We know that this is a hard time to give to any charity, with all the belt-tightening and budget-watching that we’re all doing.

But we urge all our readers to give what they can to Honor Flight. Every little bit will get the project closer to its goal, and get our veterans closer to their special day.

The project needs Guardians to accompany the veterans on the flight and see to their needs. What a great way to give of yourself in gratitude to an entire generation that gave of itself when the world needed them.

For more information on how you can help, call Assistant Sheriff Tim Morgan at 898-5501 or Richard Reece, American Legion Post 11, 878-1014.

For the sake of all our World War II veterans, we hope this project takes wing.