Air travel is an industry that makes connections. Every day, thousands of planes take off for their destinations, connecting families, colleagues and people of all nations. However, it’s not often when someone can take a flight to connect with his or her legacy.

For Navy Cmdr. Chris Peppel, connecting Columbus, Ohio, veterans with their legacies is something he gets to do with Honor Flight Columbus.

The program finds World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans from central Ohio and flies them to Washington, D.C., to visit their respective war memorials and speak with student groups about their experiences.

Peppel, a Columbus native himself, first got involved with the program when he was the commanding officer of Naval Operational Support Command (NOSC), Columbus, from 2015 to 2017.

“Being a hometown boy and seeing as there’s not a lot of military presence in Columbus, I encouraged my sailors at the NOSC to greet the honor flight during a celebration when they came home from D.C.,” Peppel said. “I want our veterans to feel valued and appreciated for their service and I knew our sailors could deliver that.”

Now, Peppel lives in D.C., where he’s taken on a bigger role with the program, coordinating tours and guardians for the veterans.

“I connect the veterans with guardians, either active duty service members or civilian volunteers, to accompany the veterans during their time in D.C.,” Peppel said. “I also try to meet them at the airport myself and welcome them off the plane.”

Veterans fill out an application for the honor flight and are put on a waiting list, where World War II veterans have priority. Once there is space available, the veterans are flown to D.C. and are paired up with guardians. They visit Arlington National Cemetery and the war memorials at the National Mall, where they also speak with student groups about their service.

The flight from Columbus is chartered by Southwest Airlines, and Honor Flight pays for the accommodations in D.C., meaning veterans participate in the program for free.

Peppel says helping veterans is incredibly rewarding and connects him with a brotherhood of service.

“It’s 100 percent positive, there’s nothing negative about this program,” Peppel said. “One thing that’s pretty amazing is, I’ll have veterans old enough to be my father, but they’ll still call me ‘brother,’ since we’re both veterans. It really is a brotherhood that we’re all a part of.”

It’s a brotherhood that the veterans of central Ohio, and indeed the rest of the country, will value forever.

Honor Flight Columbus’ next flight is Sunday, Nov. 11, Veteran’s Day. Ninety veterans will be welcomed in D.C. by active duty service members from all branches of the armed services.

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For more information on Honor Flight Columbus and how to volunteer, visit their website at http://www.honorflightcolumbus.org/home.html