Submitted Photo U.S. Air Force veteran Jim Clifford of Minot is shown with the Lincoln Memorial in the background during his trip to the Washington, D.C., area with the Western North Dakota Honor Flight.

U.S. Air Force veteran Jim Clifford of Minot said his recent trip to the Washington, D.C., area with the Western North Dakota Honor Flight was a memorable one.

“The honor is so great,” he said.

Clifford was among more than 100 veterans on the trip from Bismarck, Sunday, April 26, and returning, Monday, April 27. Besides Clifford, several other Minot veterans made the trip.

He said he was very impressed with the N.D. Western Honor Flight organization and the coordination of the trip.

“The coordination is unbelievable. We had a police escort from our hotel room in Arlington, Virginia, to the Capitol. It was right at rush hour,” he said. He said the group of veterans traveled in four buses.

When they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, people with signs were standing to the side to greet them.

“It was just unbelievable,” he said. When they left the Bismarck airport, he said, the lobby there was full of people. He said Bismarck comes out really well for the veterans going on these trips and it was the same when the Western N.D. Honor Flight was out of Minot for the first time in April 2025.

Clifford was active duty in the Air Force from 1971-75. For 10 months he served in Taiwan but his Air Force time before and after was at Minot Air Force Base with the fire department.

“My first fire chief was Ken Gillespie,” he said. Gillespie’s son, Ken Gillespie aka Dizzy the Clown, is well known in the Minot area.

After discharge from the Air Force, Clifford continued civil service with the base fire department from 1976-2008, retiring as fire chief.

During the Honor Flight trip, Clifford said, they visited many highlights — veterans’ memorials including World War II, Korean and Vietnam, the U.S. Capitol and the Dulles Air and Space Museum. Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, R-ND, and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum met with the group during their visit.

The veterans also visited Arlington National Cemetery.

“We got to see the Changing of the Guard and see them laying two wreaths,” he said.

At a banquet held that night for the veterans at their hotel, the Hyatt Regency in Arlington, he said the sentinel, the lead person for the Changing of the Guard, spoke to them.

“It was a very worthwhile trip. If you’re a veteran, you need to sign up for it,” Clifford said of the Honor Flight.

The Western North Dakota Honor Flight will be the grand marshal of the 2026 North Dakota State Parade Saturday, July 18, in Minot.