National POW/MIA event set for Friday at courthouse

A ceremony will be held Friday, Sept. 20th at the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans on the courthouse lawn, in recognition of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

That will start at 6:30 p.m. Friday evening. 

The ceremony will include: 

• Emcee: Zack Ellison, Marines veteran
• Reading of Bartholomew County POWs/MIAs by Iraq War Veteran, Chris Fitzsimmons, Commander VFW Post 1987
• Southern Indiana Pipes and Drums, led by Kevin Konetzka
• Vocalist Harvey Leggett, singing "God Bless America" and "Proud to be an American" 
• Keynote Speaker: Retired Army Chaplain, Col. Charles McDaniel, Jr. Charles will share his family’s story of the return home of his father after 68 years, Army Master Sgt. Charles H. McDaniel, Sr., of Vernon, IN, declared Missing in Action in Korea on Nov. 2, 1950. 
• Invocation/Benediction by Mike Childers, Chaplain VFW Post 1987
• Closing with a rifle volley and playing of "Taps" by the Bartholomew County Veterans Honor Guard

National POW/MIA Recognition Day is observed across the nation on the third Friday of September each year. According to organizers it is meant "to give the community an opportunity to take time to honor and remember those who have given so much for our freedom. Over 82,000 Military Personnel are still unaccounted for since WWII. Their families still wait for their return. Remembering will help ensure that the search for those still missing in action will continue and that one day another family will find closure and another soldier will come home to rest beside those they loved.
“You Are Not Forgotten” Is not a slogan – It’s a mission."

For more information you can contact Bob Miller, at [email protected] or (856) 981-7828