Kirtland to honor POWs, MIAs

  • Published
  • By Danny Monahan
  • 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
KIRTLAND AFB, N.M. --  As part of National POW/MIA Recognition Day, a ceremony will take place today at the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial on Louisiana Boulevard at 10 a.m.

The ceremony will include a Parade of Flags, wreath presentation, music, readings, and a C-130 flyover by the 58th Special Operations Wing.

"People should come to this event to take an hour out of their week and reflect and pay tribute to those who have sacrificed so much for our country," said Master Sgt. Shaun Cregger, 498th Nuclear Systems Wing programs superintendent and Team Kirtland POW/MIA coordinator. "Everyone is encouraged to come out and be a part of this special day. We have more than 150 Airmen who are contributing time to help make this be a successful event."

The event's keynote speaker will be the Honorable Timothy Hale, Cabinet Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Veterans' Services.

"Thursday, we began a 24-hour vigil run at 9:45 a.m. at Hardin Field," said Cregger. "At 9:30 a.m. today, runners will leave Hardin Field for the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial to present the National League of Families POW/MIA flag at the state recognition ceremony."

On the way to the ceremony, the runners will be escorted by the Black Berets Motorcycle Club and the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association.

"I'd like to thank all the volunteers who have committed time out of their busy schedules to pay tribute across this two-day event," said Cregger. "We are selling POW/MIA black T-shirts and taking donations."

All proceeds will be donated to the New Mexico Veterans' Memorial.

According to the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office, more than 83,000 Americans are missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War.

The first National POW/MIA Recognition Day was observed July 18, 1979. Since 1986, National POW/MIA Recognition Day is an annual event on the third Friday of September. It is one of six days throughout the year that Congress has mandated the flying of the National League of Families' POW/MIA flag. The others are Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day and Veterans Day.