Dan Fordice couldn’t help but get emotional as he spoke about the charity he holds so dear to his heart. The former military man addressed the Vicksburg Kiwanis Club Tuesday about the Warrior Bonfire Project, a foundation started by the Southern Heritage Air Foundation that aims to help combat veterans ease back into society while helping them cope with both the mental and physical wounds they bring back with them. 

What started as a deer hunt with six veterans of the War on Terror has blossomed into a statewide nonprofit dedicated to building friendships among veterans while providing them with a therapeutic release for the scars that war leaves behind.

All funds raised by the Warrior Bonfire Project are exclusively used to assist in the organization’s goal of supporting veterans, and Fordice — one of seven board members with experience in the military — discussed the many ways the charity has helped those who felt like they had nowhere else to turn.

With the organization on the upswing, the Southern Heritage Air Foundation is using its annual Air Show as a way to raise money to reach as many people as possible. The annual show, held at the Vicksburg/Tallulah Regional Airport, has been a staple of Vicksburg since 2004, and proceeds from ticket sales this year will go toward the Warrior Bonfire Project.

Along with helping out a good cause, patrons will be able to see one of the most elaborate air shows in the nation. Billed as “The Best Little Air Show In The World,” the Aeroshell Aerobatic Team will fly Oct. 17 at 6:45 p.m. and again on Oct. 18 at noon.

“We’ve got the AeroShell Aerobatic Team here. They don’t go to many small air shows because they are the best in the world,” Fordice said. “They fly in 20-something air shows a year, and they’re all the biggest air shows going.”

Admission for the event is $10 per person or $20 per carload.

Fordice ended by highlighting the importance of helping contribute to the Warrior Bonfire Project and civilians’ responsibility to pay military members back in any way possible for their service.

“We owe these guys for our freedom. We’re sitting around here having lunch, getting fat, having a nice time sitting around the table while they’re over there getting blown up and dying and everything else for us,” he said. “We absolutely owe them everything that we have here in America. They’re the ones that are giving it to us.”