Honor Flight Conyers will spread its wings this fall as it takes off with 25 World War II veterans for its first flight to Washington D.C. on September 22.

The program takes veterans on an all-expenses paid day trip to Washington D.C. to see the national WWII memorial, Arlington Cemetery, and other memorials.

Honor Flight Conyers President Dave Smith said the upcoming trip, the first for the newly formed Conyers hub, was made possible with help from the Fayetteville hub, which recently closed after serving most of the veterans in its area over four years, a donation from the Vitas company and many individual donations.

The upcoming flight will take 25 veterans and 25 "guardians" to accompany the veterans, as well as medical personnel. Smith said he already has 119 applications and receives about two or three more inquiries daily, as well as references from the national Honor Flight network.

"They're getting older by the day," said Smith. "Their ages are going to run from 85-97. We're going to have quite a few (on this trip) that are right around 90."

The group will gather for a 5 a.m. send-off at the American Legion Post 77 in Conyers. They will then ride to Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson airport on buses furnished by First Baptist of Conyers and accompanied by a police escort to catch their 7:20 a.m. flight on Air Tran. The group will spend the day in DC visiting the monuments and memorials and then catch an evening flight back and return trip to the American Legion Post 77.

The Conyers Honor Flight hub is accepting applications from veterans across the state, not just in the east metro area.

"There's still quite a few veterans left in Georgia that want to go," said Smith. "With the age of the veterans, it's just a matter of time."

The Conyers hub is in need of donations to continue its trips and is asking donors to "Sponsor a Veteran" at $400 per veteran. Guardians are required to pay their own fares.

"We've got to right on doing fundraisers," said Smith. "We need donations so we can get another flight right after this one."

To find out how to donate, go to www.honorflightconeyrs.com, call 770-483-4049, or email HonorFlightConyers@comcast.net.

Another active hub is in the Savannah area. The Columbus hub, like the Fayetteville hub, closed down after serving most of the WWII veterans in its area.

The Conyers hub plans to also serve Korean War veterans and Vietnam war veterans after WWII veterans have been served.

"We feel it's going to be an ongoing thing for a while, anyway," Smith said.