Arizona Veteran Breaks New Ground With VR

Virtual Reality is a concept we've attempted to perfect for as long as we've had the imagination to think of it. From Total Recall to Ready Player One, we have hoped for a technology that allows us to go anywhere we want from the click of a button.

It's not quite there yet, but one Arizona Vet just became the first to show what true VR immersion can look like.

Thanking Our Veterans

Out veterans have given everything they have for our freedoms. Returns home, however, show little comfort for many. It's a different world than the one faced in combat, and we've seen time and time again how society looks past our military vets.

Honor Flight Arizona hopes to change this, by taking veterans who have fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to our nation's capitol to see the memorials they may never have gotten the chance to, and it's completely free.

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Virtual Reality Helps Out

Unfortunately, with conflicts so far in the past, many veterans won't have the energy or ability to make the cross-country trip. Honor Flight Arizona wants no one to feel left out though, so they've developed a solution.

By harnessing the VR technology we have at our disposal, the organization was able to send a World War II Navy veteran to D.C. without ever leaving the comfort of his home. He was given a VR headset programmed with a virtual tour of the World War II Memorial. This is a massive development, and one that obviously means so much to these vets and their families.

Over 2,500 veterans have been able to make the trip since the program's beginning in 2009, and they plan to offer the virtual experience to more veterans who are unable to physically make the trip.

[AZ Family]

[Honor Flight Arizona]