Pictures from 2002 POW-MIA Day in Colorado Springs.
National POW & MIA Recognition Day Ceremony
The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
20 September 2002
The third Friday of September has been designated at National Prisoner of War (POW) & Missing in Action (MIA) Recognition Day.
Through the vision and determination of Fred Thompson (veteran of the War in Southeast Asia and member of the Admissions Office at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs), 2002 marks the first ceremony held on the beautiful campus of UCCS.
Mario Carrillo, Colonel, U.S. Army, Retired opened the ceremony at 1200 hours. The UCCS ROTC Honor Guard posted the colors, which involved adding the POW-MIA Flag to the American and Colorado flags, then raising all three and lowering them to half staff. During the raising of the flag, fourteen-year-old Amber Banducci sang the National Anthem.
Following a Moment of Silence, Mario welcomed the participants and provided background information on how this special day came about. He read President Bush's proclamation for the 2002 POW-MIA Recognition Day, then introduced Colonel Simeon Trombitas, the Post Commander at Fort Carson. Colonel Trombitas's remarks were followed by comments from Dr. Nina Gomez, a UCCS Faculty Member and widow of Leo Gomez, who spent time as a Prisoner of War in Europe during World War II.
Refreshments were served following the ceremony. A great event in a beautiful setting on a gorgeous September day in Colorado.
Thanks to the organizing committee:
Fred Thompson, Chair
Robert Wonnett
Mario Carrillo
Pedro Celestino
Joe Stewart
The ceremony brochure included the following information on the background of the POW/MIA Day and the POW/MIA Flag.
POW/MIA DAY
Until July 18, 1979, no commemoration was held to honor America's POW/MIAs, those returned and those still missing and unaccounted for from our nation's wars. That first year, resolutions were passed in the Congress and the national ceremony was held at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. The President signs a proclamation each year recognizing POW/MIA day in the U.S. In 1986, The National League of Families proposed the third Friday in September, a date not associated with any particular war and not in conjunction with any organization's national convention, as a day to recognized POW/MIAs. National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremonies are now held throughout the nation and around the world on military installations, ships at sea, state capitols, at schools, churches, national veteran and civic organizations, police and fire departments, fire stations, etc. The League's POW/MIA flag is flown, and the focus Is to ensure that America remembers its responsibility to stand behind those who serve our nation and do everything possible to account for those who do not return.
HISTORY OF THE POW/MIA FLAG
The accompanying pictures tell some of the story. Some load pretty slowly as I wanted to preserve the detail for any of the organizers/participants who might find them useful. Anyone who wants to use any of these pictures in an appropriate manner is welcome. If you have a need for a specific picture, send me a note at jimmie@jimmiehbutler.com and I might be able to send you a better copy than ended up on the site. Many pictures are similar, but I wanted to give Fred Thompson and his friends some choices. I posted quite a few flag pictures, but the stars and stripes looked particularly bright in the midday sun.