POW/MIA ceremony planned at Crane next month

CRANE -- Crane Army Ammunition Activity (CAAA), Naval Support Activity Crane, and Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division will host its 20th annual Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Recognition (POW/MIA) Ceremony next month.

The Ceremony will conducted at 10 a.m. on Sept. 18 at the site of Crane's POW Tree and Monument.

Guest speaker will be Robert Fletcher, former Veterans of Foreign Wars State Commander and current Post 3281 Senior Vice Commander from New Albany. He serves on the state level as chairman of both the Veterans Service Committee and Building Committee and is a member of the Finance Committee. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1974 and five years with the Indiana Army National Guard.

Last year, 30 former POWs, or families of deceased former POWs, were honored. This joint Army/Navy effort continues to grow from the first ceremony, held in 1988, which honored two former POWs.

A luncheon to honor the former POWs will be held at Crane's Club Lakeview immediately following the POW/MIA Recognition Ceremony.

In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Center gymnasium.