KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- A 24-hour vigil run at Kirtland Air Force Base will honor prisoners of war and military members missing in action next week.
The POW/MIA vigil run starts at 1 p.m. Sept. 15 after an opening ceremony at 12:30 at Hardin Field. It ends at 1 p.m. Sept. 16 at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial with a ceremony that includes two former POWs following.
Tech. Sgt. Stephanie Therrien, secretary of the Air Force Sergeants Association and committee leader for the run, said POWs and MIA personnel are an important part of history.
“It’s important we support our brothers and sisters in arms,” she said, adding that the run and ceremonies are one way to do so.
Organizers hope to have as many people as possible at both ceremonies.
POW-MIA Day is the third Friday in September.
Therrien said units and professional organizations on base have signed up teams to carry a POW/MIA flag throughout the 24-hour run. Anyone with base access can join the run at any time.
Participants run only on Hardin Field until the last team carries the flag to the memorial at 1100 Louisiana Blvd. with an escort from the Patriot Guard veterans motorcycle group.
Korean War POW Dan McKinney and Vietnam War POW Aubrey Nichols, both contacted through the local Veterans Affairs POW program, are scheduled to speak at the closing ceremony, as is 377th Air Base Wing Commander Col. Eric Froehlich. Therrien said organizers are still working to arrange a speaker for the opening ceremony, but she expects someone from the 58th Special Operations Wing or 150th SOW to address the audience.
The sergeants association will sell coins from a table at both ceremonies and during the run. Coins cost $10 each, and proceeds go to the New Mexico Veterans Memorial.
People can stop by the table to buy a coin, or preorder by contacting Therrien at 262-4667 or stephanie.therrien@us.af.mil.
She said the vigil run has happened at Kirtland in the past, but responsibility bounced among various organizations. This year, sergeants association members decided it should be their job.
“We need to honor these POWs and MIAs that didn’t make it back, those that did and those that didn’t,” Therrien said.