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WINDSOR, Colo. (KDVR) — It felt like High Plains Honor Flight had won the sweepstakes Monday morning at Pelican Lakes Golf Club in Windsor. A hard-working fundraiser handed them an oversized check for $22,000.

“Ninety-two-year-old Korean War veteran who took an honor flight with us a couple years ago, and was so moved by his experience that he decided to pay it forward and help other veterans get to Washington, D.C.,” explained Matt Voris, president of High Plains Honor Flight.

It wasn’t the first time Dick Hall had helped raised big money for the charity through a golf tournament. And he plans to keep doing it, because the honor flight changed his life.

“And I thought, how can I repay the honor flight?” Hall told FOX31.

He’s one of the thousands of Colorado veterans who have gone on an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C., thanks to the northern Colorado charity. The High Plains Honor Flight transports as many veterans as possible to the nation’s capital to visit the monuments and memorials dedicated to them and others who served and sacrificed during wartime. 

FOX31 traveled with the group earlier this year, as they chartered a flight with more than 100 Colorado veterans. As someone who served during the Korean war, Hall said the memorial to that conflict really stood out.

“I don’t care where you’re at on that triangle (on the National Mall), one of those soldiers is looking at you. And these are the kinds of things you learn on the trip,” Hall said.

During the flight home, the veterans are given letters from local children, thanking them for all they did for our country. Hall said reading those letters changed his world.

“I woke up Tuesday morning, and I said I have a new purpose in life,” Hall said.

He actually sought out and met the children who had written to him and got involved at their school as a volunteer. Then he decided to start raising money for High Plains Honor Flight with a golf tournament, so more veterans can experience what he did in D.C.

“And it was just an absolutely wonderful experience,” Hall said.

In two years, he’s helped raise a little more than $41,000.

“It’ll put 20 people on a plane to D.C. and as he told us it changed his life, so outstanding effort,” Voris said.

Hero of the Month

For his outstanding effort at raising money to help Colorado veterans, FOX31 is naming him the Serving Those Who Serve Hero of the Month. Along with a plaque, he receives a $500 Visa gift card from our Serving Those Who Serve sponsors, Plumbline Services, Ford and the Leo Hill Charitable Trust.

“You’re gonna have me in tears,” Hall said as he was handed the plaque.

As for his fundraising efforts, he’s already planning another golf tournament for next summer.

“I have no intention of quitting,” Hall said.

To donate to High Plains Honor Flight and help send a Colorado veteran to Washington, D.C., visit their donation page.

To nominate a veteran, active duty service member, military family member or volunteer for our Hero of the Month honors, visit the Serving Those Who Serve nomination page.