Editor's Note: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that retired Maj. Fred Jones received "a Medal of Honor" (which could be confused for "the Medal of Honor") for his service in the Korean War. Jones was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in 2000; he was not awarded the Medal of Honor.

DAPHNE, Ala.—Retired Maj. Fred Jones  served his country in World War II and in the Korean War and has received a military decoration for his service—but doesn’t consider himself a hero.

“They always try to make a hero out of you,” he said, reclining in his living room. “That just isn’t the way it was. When we were over there, we didn’t feel like heroes. It was just a day’s work.”

Jones said that when he served his military tours it never crossed his mind that he would be considered a hero.

Still, he understands that people admire his commitment to protect our freedom—and luckily for veterans like him, one organization has aimed to return the favor.

The Honor Flight Network, a nonprofit that partners with the South Alabama Veterans Council, flies veterans to war memorials in Washington, D.C.; Jones, on their dime, will be one of many who will visit these monuments for the first time.

The program is a no-cost event for WWII vets to go from Mobile—among other places—to D.C., according to Barry Booth, a veteran and network supporter.

“They’ll be met by Sen. Bob Dole and we’ll have a bagpipe as they move around the memorial,” he said.

Honor Flight Network hopes to transport 25,000 veterans from across the U.S. to the World War II Memorial, according to its Web site, honorflight.org, which said the program has 71 hubs in 30 states; it hopes to support all 50 states by year’s end.

The organization needs to move quickly, the site said, because as service men and women age, another thousand of them die each day.

A central figure in the network is the volunteer guardian—basically a chaperone who accompanies the veteran on the one-day round-trip.

“We’re asking for volunteers to act as guardians,” Booth said. “For financial and health reasons, some families are unable to get them to the memorial,” he said.

The concept behind the network—co-founded three years ago by Earl Morse, a physician assistant and retired Air Force captain, and Jeff Miller of Hendersonville, N.C., is to honor service men and women—true patriots—who were willing to give the greatest sacrifice for their country.

“Patriotic” certainly describes Jones. A Boy Scout in his early years, he always wanted to be a pilot, and joined the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps in high school, where he entered the National Guard.

Jones enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps—the precursor to today’s Air Force—in Montgomery in 1942. He conducted his preflight training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery and was transferred to instructor’s school at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas. He earned his pilot’s wings in 1944, having trained on PC-17 aircraft.

The Army decided it had too many flight instructors after Jones had completed flight training, so they moved him into flight engineering.

“I became what they called ‘the third pilot,’” he said. “We had a combat-ready crew that would go to the Far East.”

After the Korean War ended, Jones enrolled in Alabama Polytechnic Institute—now Auburn University. He graduated in 1947 with a degree in aeronautical administration.

He worked as an air-traffic controller with the Federal Aviation Administration until being recalled into action in 1950, when he went to Korea and flew 100 missions in North American Aviation P-51 Mustangs, a single-seat fighter aircraft.

“I had a choice to go to Korea or stay home,” he said. “But I felt like I should go and I went.”

Jones was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross for his service in Korea during a ceremony at Maxwell Air Force Base in 2000.

His trip this year will comprise visits to the World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iwo Jima and Arlington memorials.

“Our debt is such that we can never repay them,” Booth said of our service men and women. “This is our chance to honor them. It is a most memorable trip, not only for the vets, but also for the guardians.

“You can see it in their face as they go back. It’s a very emotional trip.”

Jones said he feels that seeing the memorials will be a thrill.

Then modesty kicks in.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “But I still don’t feel like a hero.”