Honor Flight Film Coming Back to Oak Creek

The documentary film that follows the story of the Stars and Stripes Honor Flight will be shown for a second time in Oak Creek and other select Marcus theaters throughout the state this month.

Four theaters that will have showings from Jan. 14 through the 17 include:

• South Shore Cinema in Oak Creek;
• Saukville Cinema;
• Menomonee Falls Cinema;
• and Ridge Cinema in New Berlin.

Several other locations have confirmed showings scheduled for just Jan. 16 and 17, including:

• Renaissance in Sturtevant;
• Sheboygan Cinema;
• Point Cinema, Madison;
• and Ho-Chunk in Tomah.

Starring two Ozaukee County World War II veterans, Honor Flight follows a team of local volunteers as they race against the clock to send every WWII veteran on a completely free trip — an Honor Flight — to Washington, D.C. to visit the war memorials built to commemorate their service.

Throughout the Honor Flight experience veterans begin to share their war stories — some for the first time. For many of the veterans, this is their first visit to Washington and the first time they have been thanked for their sacrifice.

Ozaukee County veterans Joe Demler, a former prisoner of war, and Harvey Kurz, who was at Iwo Jima, star in the film and will make appearances at the some of the showings, said Joe Dean, Stars and Stripes Honor Flight chairman.

Demler was in Congress for the showing of the movie on Dec. 7, coincidentally Pearl Harbor Day and also his birthday.

Kurz said he saw the movie in August at Miller Park and is looking forward to seeing it again.

"I could watch it over and over," he said.

The movie is of interest to all ages for its historical and personal significance.

Honor Flight was directed by Wauwatosa native Dan Hayes and produced by Freethink Media. The movie has been submitted for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Feature.

The film set a Guinness World Record for the largest film screening ever of 28,422 people at Miller Park on Aug. 11, according to Freethink Media.

Earlier this month, the Honor Flight announced that it completed its waiting list for area veterans with its 16th mission flown. 

Honor Flight is a national program with 117 hubs from coast to coast. The World War II Memorial did not open until 2004 and many veterans are unable to visit it without assistance. According to the Veterans Affairs, a World War II veteran dies every 90 seconds in the United States. The average age of a World War II veteran is 89.