The Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks are teaming up to sponsor three planeloads of area veterans on Stars and Stripes Honor Flight’s 84^th mission,” scheduled for Saturday, November 1, 2025. This will be the sixth year the teams have joined together for the purpose of honoring our American heroes.

This “Flight of Champions” will honor approximately 180 Vietnam and Vietnam Era veterans from northeast, southeast and east central Wisconsin with a one day, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., to visit the memorials built to recognize their service and sacrifice, and to experience a full day of honor and thanks for their efforts. 

“It is an honor to be a part of this mission with our fellow pro sports teams from Wisconsin,” stated Green Bay Packers President and CEO, Ed Policy. “All of our teams have great respect and gratitude for those who have served, and are serving, in our military. That’s why we are so excited to continue playing a small role in ensuring these veterans have a great day in D.C.” 

Early in the morning of November 1, a plane of veterans, guardians and Green Bay Packers alumni will depart from Green Bay’s Austin-Straubel International Airport. Simultaneously, two planeloads of veterans, guardians and representatives from the Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks will depart from Milwaukee’s Mitchell International Airport.

When the three planes arrive at Washington Dulles International Airport on flight day, the veterans, their guardians and team representatives will spend the day touring Washington. The tour will include the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the Marine Corps/Iwo Jima Memorial and the Changing of the Guard at Arlington National Cemetery.

Making this day even more special is that on November 1, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will welcome its 11,000^th veteran to take this trip of honor since 2008. “We are thrilled to welcome the 11,000^th veteran to take this journey of healing, closure and gratitude with us since 2008,” stated Karyn Roelke, president of Stars and Stripes Honor Flight. “It has been an incredible honor to thank each and every one of them and we look forward to honoring thousands more local veterans in the years to come.”

“The Brewers, along with our partners the Packers and Bucks, have long-standing commitments to giving back to those veterans who call Wisconsin home,” said Brewers President – Business Operations, Rick Schlesinger.

He continued, “There is no greater honor than supporting them as they make this incredible Flight of Champions journey. Throughout the many years we’ve worked with Stars and Stripes Honor Flight, we know what an outstanding job they do, and we know this will be a memorable experience for the honored veterans and all of us involved with this effort.”

“We thank our family, friends and neighbors for their bravery and sacrifice and dedicating their lives to protecting us,” said Peter Feigin, President of the Milwaukee Bucks and Fiserv Forum. “The Milwaukee Bucks are proud to team up with the Packers and Brewers to create a memorable trip and experience for those who served so courageously in our military.”

“In the past, many of our veterans returned home to little gratitude or fanfare,” Roelke said. “Many of our Vietnam and Vietnam Era veterans came home to disinterest, or even a hostile reception. What an honor it will be to finally welcome them home properly and hopefully replace some of those difficult memories with positive ones.”

Melisa Young, County Veterans Service Officer, agreed. “This honor and validation from the community, Packers, Brewers and Bucks, will encourage even more veterans to sign up for these flights and encourage them to seek out their VA benefits from their local county and tribal veterans service offices.”

Members of the public are encouraged to mark the evening of November 1 on their calendars and go to Austin Straubel International Airport or Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport to welcome the veterans upon their return home. Details will be announced in the coming weeks. “We want to give our veterans a return home that they will remember for a lifetime,” added Roelke. “It’s a way to say thanks to these men and women who gave so much to our country. The festivities are always outstanding and as memorable for the public as they are for the veterans.”

This will be the final Stars and Stripes Honor Flight for 2025, with the 2026 schedule to be announced in January. As an all-volunteer organization with no paid staff and no offices, the organization is proud to share that more than $.97 of every donated dollar goes directly to flying and honoring veterans.

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Honor Flight is a national program with more than 130 hubs from coast to coast. Nationally, hubs in the Honor Flight network have honored over 275,000 veterans with free trips to see their memorials.