FOLEY, Ala. — On Monday, Foley City Council declared May 6, 2009, as World War II Veteran’s Day. On that day, the City of Foley will help pay the expenses of six area WW II veterans to fly to Washington, D.C., to visit, among other things, the WW II Memorial.

The City’s effort to honor the veterans is a part of the Honor Flight Network Program, in this case Honor Flight South Alabama. The Honor Flight program came to be shortly after the WW II Memorial was completed in May 2004.

“Times are tough in Foley, but time is running out for World War II veterans,” said Mayor Pro Tem Wayne Trawick, who presided over Monday’s city council meeting.

Trawick’s reference was to the fact approximately 1,000 WW II veterans die daily. Many of them will do so without ever seeing the WW II Memorial built in their honor. Some veterans are not physically able to make such a trip or are financially hindered from doing so.

Councilman Charlie Ebert III said the City of Foley agreed to donate approximately $3,000 so six area veterans can make the flight to the nation’s capital. The funding includes the expense of anyone who might have to accompany a veteran on the flight or any aids the veteran might need in connection with the trip, Ebert said.

According to the Honor Flight Web site, the inaugural Honor Flight took place in May 2005 when six small planes left Springfield, Ohio, with 12 veterans aboard to visit the WWII Memorial.

The Honor Flight idea was conceived by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain and private pilot.

The Honor Flight network involves a program that extends across the country. For example, the Honor Flight South Alabama on May 6, with which the City of Foley is involved, follows the Central Missouri Honor Flight on May 5 and precedes the Honor Flight Birmingham Alabama on May 7, that according to the Honor Flight schedule on its Web site.