When Space Coast Honor Flight embarks on its 60th flight on Oct. 26, it will have taken 1,525 area veterans on a free trip to visit the monuments in their honor in Washington, D.C.

However, many who would like to experience an Honor Flight are no longer physically able to travel.

The only option is to bring the monuments to them.

Hospice of St. Francis, in partnership with Space Coast Honor Flight, has developed a virtual reality program that was filmed on a recent Honor Flight. Veterans in hospice can don the special 3D goggles and watch a 360-degree video of the Honor Flight tour as if it's happening around them.

“Everybody that has seen this is wowed by how it helps, by how realistic it is,” said Joe Killian, President and CEO of Hospice of St. Francis.

“You’re almost sitting in whatever setting, almost like you’re there. It brings a sense of reality, even though you’re not actually there.”

For example, in one segment, the viewer is transported to the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A sergeant can be seen inspecting the rifle of the oncoming tomb guard.

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According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 362 WWII veterans die each day. Out of 16 million veterans who served the United States during WWII, less than 500,000 are still alive.

“Many of them are in their 80s and 90s. They’re too frail, they’re too ill to go,” Killian said. “We want to be able to offer this to those types of individuals so that they have that experience before they pass.”

When Killian approached Space Coast Honor Flight representatives with this idea, they jumped at the chance.

“We had been hoping to find a way to do that and we had teamed with St. Francis before, they take care of all our breakfasts for our flights,” said Jim Hart, President of Space Coast Honor Flight. “They’re a partner we know, we trust and it just worked out to be a great experience.”

Space Coast Honor Flight’s mission is to take veterans, especially WWII, Korean War and Vietnam Veterans, to visit War Memorials in Washington D.C. It is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization supported by donations from businesses and individuals, as well as grants.

Space Coast Honor Flights provide a one-day, all-expenses paid trip — known as "one more tour with Honor" — to give veterans an opportunity to visit their memorials, exchange experiences with fellow veterans and reflect upon their service. Each trip includes 25 veterans, 25 guardian escorts, staff members and a medical representative.

The first Space Coast Honor Flight took place in 2010. Three flights followed in 2011, and since 2012 the organization has hosted seven flights a year.

“I’ve been on many, many of these flights, but to see it in this form is just awesome,” Hart said after donning the special glasses for the VR experience. “For all the veterans that are in hospice, those that can’t fly with us, this is going to be a great addition for them to be able to have this experience.”

This experience isn’t just limited to Honor Flights. Hospice of St. Francis is experimenting with other ways to help those who can no longer go out and experience the world.

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“We’ve understood that the virtual reality experience is now starting to blend over into the health care side of the world,” Killian said. “We started using it a little while ago for our patients that almost like a bucket list type of thing that if they wish to go to France, for instance, and take a tour, go to their childhood home one more time, we can offer that through our virtual reality tour.

“We had one patient, one family, that did it together. They said they took a trip around the world in one afternoon. That’s somebody that’s a hospice patient that doesn’t have too many more days to be with us and we were glad we were able to make that experience a memorable one for them and their family.”

This technology is changing how ill or bed-ridden people can spend their remaining days on Earth.

“I’m hoping it will be shared by other hospices and down the road maybe we’ll be able to talk to other Honor Flight hubs here in Florida or throughout the country about our experience and what might be possible for them,” Hart said. “I think for all of the people that volunteer and work with us, it’s the reward of doing something positive that helps your fellow citizens.”