Veterans fill one end of the Fort Dodge Regional Airport terminal Wednesday morning in preparation for the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C.

FORT DODGE — When a multi-colored jet zoomed into the sky above Fort Dodge early Wednesday morning, its takeoff marked the beginning of an epic journey for the roughly 130 veterans aboard.

But for some aboard the aircraft, the departure also marked the beginning of the end of a mission that began in 2010.

The takeoff loaded with so much meaning was the departure of the 27th edition of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight, which takes veterans to Washington, D.C., for free to see the nation’s war memorials.

For 15 years, the flights have been organized by a committee led by Ron Newsum, of Fort Dodge. That group is retiring and Wednesday’s flight was its last. A new committee is being organized to take over the flights.

“It’s going to get kind of emotional for me,” Newsum said while working in the Fort Dodge Regional Airport terminal before dawn to get ready for Wednesday’s flight.

“It’s been a good ride,” he added. “I would do it all over again.”

Over the course of that “good ride” the Honor Flight committee took more than 3,600 veterans to the nation’s capital. It added to that total Wednesday.

Army veteran Lloyd Martin, of Webster City, was one of the former servicemen aboard the flight. He served in an ordnance unit in West Germany.

“Everybody has been after me to do it,” he said. “They finally talked me into it.”

“I think I’m really going to enjoy it,” he added. “I want to thank everyone who donated to the Honor Flight.”

Martin said he has never been to Washington.

“I just want to see everything — as much as I can,” he said.

Cal Mogler, of Fort Dodge, was also looking forward to seeing the monuments in Washington.

“I’ve never seen a lot of the stuff we’re going to see here now,” he said.

Mogler is a veteran of the Iowa Army National Guard who served in the 194th Field Artillery, working out of the armory in Algona.

He said his brother, Art Mogler, and several buddies have been on previous Honor Flights. They encouraged him to go, he said.

Army veteran Dave Wildin, of Algona, was also making his first trip to Washington. He served in the 546th Transportation Co. from 1965 to 1967. He was among the American soldiers sent to the Dominican Republic in 1965 during a civil war there. His unit was later sent to work at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. He has written a book about his Army experiences called “I’m Not Going To Die.”

Air Force veteran Warren Mitchell, of Aurelia, said he had never been to Washington. But he said what he was really looking forward to on the trip was spending time in the company of so many other veterans.

“I am more interested in the camaraderie with everyone here, my fellow veterans,” he said.

Looking around at the veterans clad in red hats and red shirts filling the airport terminal, he said, “There’s a lot of military service sitting right here.”

Mitchell served in air traffic control and radar units from 1972 to 1978. All of his service was in the United States. However, in 1975, around the time Saigon fell in the Vietnam War, his unit was put on alert to potentially go to South Vietnam on literally five minutes notice. He said groups of about 20 airmen used to sit in a cargo plane, waiting to learn if they were going to South Vietnam

“Talk about some nervous dudes,” he said.

Also on board the flight were volunteers carrying six flags representing veterans who applied to go on an Honor Flight, but died before they were able to. They are Navy veteran Dennis Ammaz, of Webster County; Army veteran Clifford Cameron, of Franklin County; Army veteran Ron Grove, of Ida County; Army veteran Thomas Rabbitt, of Webster County; Navy veteran Ed Ruddy, of Webster County; and Army veteran Albert Yung, of Webster County. The flags were to be photographed at the various monuments, and were to be presented to the veterans’ families when the flight returned Wednesday night.

The flight was to land at Dulles International Airport in the Virginia suburbs of Washington. There, the veterans were to board buses and head into the capital.

The group was to visit the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, World War II Memorial, the Marine Corps War Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Air Force Memorial.

David Borer, a freelancer for the Daily Freeman-Journal, is aboard the flight.

Ron Newsum, left, the founder and president of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight, works Wednesday morning with the volunteers who were to carry the flags of deceased veterans on the trip to Washington, D.C. Wednesday’s flight was the final one for Newsum and the members of the committee he assembled in 2010 to organize the flights. A new committee is being organized to continue the flights.

Ron Newsum, left, the founder and president of the Brushy Creek Area Honor Flight, works Wednesday morning with the volunteers who were to carry the flags of deceased veterans on the trip to Washington, D.C. Wednesday’s flight was the final one for Newsum and the members of the committee he assembled in 2010 to organize the flights. A new committee is being organized to continue the flights.