JAY — The annual POW/MIA (Prisoners of War and Missing In Action) Recognition Ceremony is set for 10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 16, at the POW/MIA Memorial.
The Frank L. Mitchell VFW Post 3335, AMVETS Lane Dube Post 33, American Legion Post 10 and the posts’ auxiliaries will hold the event.
All members, veterans, guests and the public are invited. The event will occur, rain or shine.
The memorial is located on 12 Riley Road, near the intersection of Route 4 and Riley Road, at the beginning of the Memorial Bridge crossing the Androscoggin River. Ample parking is available beside the Ski Depot.
Limited mobility parking and seating will be available for those displaying a handicap emblem, according to a news release from Post Judge Advocate Jim Manter with the VFW.
This year marks the 32nd consecutive year that the POW/MIA ceremony has occurred. The ceremony will include the arrival the United Bikers of Maine and American Legion riders, under escort of local sheriffs and police departments; recognition of local POW/MIAs; laying of a wreath; local Spruce Mountain High School singers and musicians performing patriotic songs led by Jan and Tom Gill; and local firing squad and honor guard units. Rendering colors this year will be the Civil Air Patrol Cadets of Maine.
Music will start at about 9:45 a.m., and the ceremony will begin at about 10 a.m. The Memorial Bridge will be closed to traffic from about 10-10:45 a.m. Crash Road will be closed to through traffic at the corner of Riley Road and Crash Road, and Riley Road will be closed at the junction with Route 4.
This year will include a special guest speaker, from the Department of POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), from Hawaii.
“DPAA is the agency that is responsible for finding, locating, recovering, identifying, and then re-patriating our Missing In Action Americans to their Families. This is indeed an honor to have them at our community POW/MIA event, and a first for the agency to come to Maine,” Manter said.
This year’s guests of honor will include Maine family members that had POWs, and members that were re-patriated in the past year.
The annual POW/MIA ceremony is performed as a time-honored event to salute the veterans and families of the missing who continue to keep the candle of hope alive. The ceremony is normally celebrated on the National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which is always the third Friday of September.
According to VFW Post 3335 Commander Rick Merrill, “Since WWII, more than 83,000 military men and women are missing or unaccounted for, and never made it home. This ceremony is to recognize the sacrifice and dedication of our military members and families, that we shall never forget them.”
For more information, call VFW Post 3335 at 207-897-5112. For more information on United States Prisoners of War and Missing In Action, visit dpaa.mil.
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