SPRINGFIELD – In conjunction with National Former Prisoner of War Recognition Day, the Illinois Department of Veterans’ Affairs (IDVA) and the Department of Illinois, American Ex-Prisoners of War will co-host the American Ex-Prisoners of War recognition day ceremony outside the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield on Thursday, April 9th. The ceremony will honor all Illinois Ex-POWs for their courage and service to our nation and will include musical selections by the Springfield Municipal Band, Taps, a 21-gun salute, the raising of the POW/MIA flag, and a yellow-ribbon ceremony around the White Oak tree.
Dozens of Illinois Ex-POWs and their families will participate in the special ceremony. Members of the United States Army Reserve 724th Transportation Company in Bartonville will also be in attendance in honor of Staff Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin who was the first POW/MIA of the Iraqi Freedom War. Staff Sgt. Maupin was captured and taken prisoner by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 and was laid to rest in April of 2008.
The Department invites and encourages all Veterans, families and friends to join them at this very special ceremony.
WHO:
- IDVA Director Dan Grant
- IDVA Assistant Director Sergio Estrada
- Robert Foster, Illinois Commander of American Ex-POWs
- Marianne Roenna, Chaplain, Illinois American Ex-POWs
- State and Local Elected Officials
- Inter-Veterans Burial Detail of Sangamon County
- Springfield Municipal Band
- Members of the 114th Regiment IL Volunteer Infantry, 40 & 8 Voiture 344, and the 724th Transportation Company
WHAT: American Ex-Prisoners of War recognition day ceremony
WHEN: Thursday, April 9, 2009, at 12:00 p.m.
WHERE: Executive Mansion Lawn
410 East Jackson Street, Springfield, IL 62701
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