JOITN BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH –
People who have access to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, are
invited to attend a wreath-laying ceremony 10:15 to 11 a.m. March 4th at Washington
Circle’s Missing Man Formation Monument and the following Freedom Flyer Reunion
Symposium from 1-4 p.m. at Taj Mahal’s Fleenor Auditorium here.
JBSA-Randolph .mil computer users can also access the
Symposium live on VBRICK at http://131.44.124.10/vbs1multi.asx
as five former prisoners of war tell their stories of survival.
More than 30 former POWs from the Vietnam conflict will
reunite for the 43rd time during the annual Freedom Flyer Reunion.
The Freedom Flyer program was born in 1973 when the 560th
Flying Training Squadron began retraining former POWs to fly again in the Air
Force. Later, the squadron provided POW
pilots who had not been retrained to fly one last time, ensuring that their
last flight in an Air Force aircraft wouldn't be the flight on which they were
shot down and captured.
Covering the last 37 years, the “Chargin’ Cheetahs” of the
560th have helped 195 former POWs return to the skies on a Freedom Flight. There are still 511 Air Force service members
missing and unaccounted for from the conflict in Southeast Asia, according to
Air Force records,.
This year’s reunion coincides with the anniversary of the
release of 29 Freedom Flyer POWs on March 4, 1973. Several guests are associated with that
release and are expected to attend.
The wreath-laying ceremony will be held at the Missing Man
Formation and, if there is inclement weather, the ceremony will be relocated to
the Fleenor Auditorium, inside Taj Mahal, building 100.
A flyover of JBSA-Randolph involving T-38A Talons, F-4
Phantoms, and one B-1 Lancer is scheduled as part of the wreath-laying. The aircraft will be at a low altitude and
visible by the public in the greater community briefly during the ceremony to
honor fallen Servicemen and women.
Aircraft noise on the base will also increase briefly before the aircraft
depart airspace.
Following the wreath-laying, there will be a symposium
featuring five former POWs who will tell their inspiring stories of hope and
survival at Fleenor Auditorium.
For more information, call the 12th Flying Training Wing Public
Affairs at 652-1272.