SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com)  — Smithfield Foods has donated $125,000 to fully fund the next Midwest Honor Flight for veterans to Washington, D.C.

Honor flights take veterans, especially the oldtimers, to see the monuments in Washington that honor their service. For many, it’s their first trip to the Nation’s Capital.

Vietnam Vet Jim Kortemeyer was a featured speaker for the big announcement on Thursday at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Sioux Falls.

Jim says his honor flight last year was incredibly healing.

The Smithfield donation will give over 83 World War II, Korean War and Vietnam Vets an all-expense paid trip in September. The vets will come from South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota. 

“Part of Smithfield’s social purpose is to honor those who have dedicated themselves in service to our country,” says Mark Wiggs, plant manager at Smithfield Foods’ Sioux Falls plant.