As hundreds of World War II veterans die every day, a Sioux Falls group is racing against the clock to organize free trips to the national war memorial for veterans statewide.

Honor Flight South Dakota hopes to fly about 120 veterans to Washington, D.C., for a free two-day trip as soon as this spring. To begin fundraising efforts, Gov. Mike Rounds has declared this "Honor Flight South Dakota Week."

"If you were 20 years old in the Army Air Corps in 1944, when they finally dedicated the national memorial, you were 80," board president Larry Rohrer of rural Wakonda said. "There's a time issue."

The South Dakota group is a hub of the Honor Flight Network, a national organization founded in 2004 in Ohio to offer World War II veterans a chance to visit their memorial for free. There are 73 hubs in 34 states, according to the network's Web site.

Three West River veterans made the trip this year with the national group as "lone eagles," or veterans without a local group, said Jim McLaughlin, the national board's chairman.

For Paul Sperb, 83, of Belle Fourche, seeing the war memorial was an incredible experience and one that would have been impossible without Honor Flight. He and his daughter flew out of Rapid City Regional Airport in September after reading about the nonprofit program in a magazine.

"Anyone that has a chance to go down and see it should," Sperb said. "It's really something to see."

The local chapter will open the opportunity to more South Dakota veterans, and Rohrer said organizers hope to offer at least four trips.

Each trip would be two days and include visits to the World War II, Vietnam and Korean memorials and Arlington National Cemetery.

Veterans would pay nothing for the two-day trip; guardians, who are often a son or daughter, would have to pay their own way. Veterans' medical needs would be accommodated, whether that means a wheelchair or portable oxygen.

Before the first trip can take off this spring, the group needs to raise $170,000 to cover the costs, including a plane charter and hotel rooms, Rohrer said. Corporate sponsors include Sanford Health, KELO-TV, First Premier Bank and Premier BankCard.

Even though the group is based in Sioux Falls, organizers want to offer the trips to all South Dakota veterans, Rohrer said. In 2007, he said, there were about 8,300 World War II veterans in the state.

"Even if you were to choose Sioux Falls, Rapid and Aberdeen (for launching points), what about a guy from Pierre or Kadoka?" he said. "We've kicked around some ideas to make that as convenient as possible."

To learn more about Honor Flight South Dakota, make a donation or download an application, go to www.honorflightsd.org. Donations also can be mailed to Honor Flight South Dakota, P.O. Box 947, Sioux Falls, SD 57104.