72 Wisconsin Veterans Fly to NYC as 9/11 Anniversary Retreat Targets Suicide Crisis

Seventy-two Global War on Terrorism veterans from Northeast Wisconsin boarded a flight out of Greenville on Thursday, headed for New York City and a weekend built around something more than sightseeing. The trip, organized by the nonprofit Missions of Honor, paired stops at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, the Freedom Tower, and the Statue of Liberty with structured peer support sessions aimed at helping post-9/11 veterans process trauma most civilians never see. The veterans were expected back in Wisconsin on Sunday.

The trip, known as the Freedom to Liberty retreat, is designed to give veterans healing and connection through shared experience, according to WFRV Local 5. Special guests included Medal of Honor recipient David Bellavia, retired Col. Allison Black, and survivors of the September 11 attacks, who joined veterans throughout the weekend. Bellavia became the first living Iraq War veteran to receive the Medal of Honor, awarded in 2019 for single-handedly clearing an insurgent-filled house during the Second Battle of Fallujah in November 2004, according to the National Medal of Honor Heritage Center. He served as a U.S. Army squad leader in Task Force 2-2 with the 1st Infantry Division.

A Retreat Model Built From a Single-Day Flight

Missions of Honor did not start out running multi-day trips like this one. The organization was founded in Appleton in 2009 as Old Glory Honor Flight, taking older veterans on single-day memorial flights to Washington, D.C., before expanding in 2023 to create the Missions of Honor retreat branch specifically to address post-9/11 veteran mental health and peer connection, according to the organization's own account of its history. This particular trip marked Mission 82 for the nonprofit, and a second Freedom to Liberty retreat is scheduled to run September 9 through 12.

Both 2026 trips were scheduled to coincide with the 25th anniversary year of the September 11 attacks. Col. Allison Black, who joined this weekend's retreat as a guest, spent 32 years in the U.S. Air Force and earned the nickname “Angel of Death” in 2001 as the first female AC-130 gunship navigator to fire in combat during the invasion of Afghanistan, according to the American Legion. She went on to command the 1st Special Operations Wing before retiring in 2024.

Statewide Expansion Behind the Scenes

Starting with its 2026 schedule, Missions of Honor opened the Freedom to Liberty retreat to Global War on Terrorism veterans from anywhere in Wisconsin, not just the Fox Valley and Appleton areas that previous retreats had focused on. The nonprofit operates as a 501(c)(3) public charity without state or federal government funding, bringing in $1.69 million in revenue in 2025 to cover retreat and flight costs, according to tax filings reviewed by ProPublica. Those filings show the charity holds more than $3.4 million in net assets.

The expansion arrives against a backdrop that helps explain why programs like this exist at all. A Brown University Costs of War study found that more than 30,177 post-9/11 active-duty service members and veterans have died by suicide, over four times the 7,057 U.S. service members killed in post-9/11 combat operations. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has reported that suicide remains the second leading cause of death for American veterans under 45, with post-9/11 veterans experiencing a 57.3% higher suicide rate than non-veteran U.S. adults.

A Growing Veteran Population Back Home

Wisconsin is home to roughly 363,000 military veterans as of 2026, about 6.2% of the state's adult population, with post-9/11 and Gulf War veterans making up the fastest-growing segment as the generational mix shifts away from Vietnam-era veterans, according to data compiled by National VA Loans. That demographic shift is part of why Missions of Honor widened eligibility for this retreat beyond its original Northeast Wisconsin base.

The nonprofit's work extends beyond the Freedom to Liberty retreats. Each July during EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Missions of Honor runs its Yellow Ribbon Honor Flight, flying 100 Vietnam War veterans to Washington, D.C. The flight marked its 12th year originating from Oshkosh in 2026, according to the Experimental Aircraft Association. With a second Freedom to Liberty retreat set for next month and demand for the program now open statewide, the nonprofit's ability to keep pace without government funding remains an open question for its continued growth.