The Madera Rotary Club donated $10,000 this week to the Central Valley Honor Flight Project, which sends World War II veterans to Washington D.C. to see the World War II Memorial, Arlington Cemetary and other monuments.
Funds were raised by a raffle to win a specially engraved Army .45 caliber pistol like those carried by soldiers in World War II. Dog tags were issued for each person donating and were placed in a large bowl. At the event Rotary past president and initiator of the local Honor Flight Project, Ren Hallett, with the assistance of World War II veteran Phillip Hauck, drew the winning dog tag. Elks Lodge member Harold Johnson was the winner. The Elks Lodge has supported the Honor Flight Project since its beginning.
The donation made this week at the Rotary Club’s regular meeting at Madera Municipal Golf Course will help to send some of the more than 4,000 remaining Central Valley World War II veterans to Washington.
According to Hallett, the efforts of the Madera Rotary Club have raised $44,000 for the project...