Published: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Whidbey naval base ceremony to honor POW-MIAs
This year's ceremony will highlight a Navy pilot whose Hornet fighter jet was lost on the first day of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
OAK HARBOR — The public is invited to a noon ceremony Friday to honor men and women still considered prisoners of war or missing in action.
Organizers plan to highlight the story of U.S. Navy Capt. Michael “Scott” Speicher at the ceremony, held at the Seaplane Base, east of downtown Oak Harbor.
Speicher's remains were found in August, ending 18 years of uncertainty about his fate. His F/A-18 Hornet fighter was shot down during a combat mission the first night of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The naval base typically holds a special ceremony each year to honor prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Guest speaker Lt. Cmdr. Brian Danielson helped excavate the remains of a missing service member in Laos as part of the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command. His father, who served in the Air Force, is listed as missing in action.
Electronic Attack Squadron 129 will perform a formation fly-by and the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Honor Guard will render honors with a 21-gun salute and taps.
At 1 p.m., aviation buffs can get a glimpse of a Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina, a utility aircraft used nearly 60 years ago on Whidbey Island to lug personnel, supplies and information to the Aleutian Islands. The plane scheduled to be shown Friday was later converted so it could drop water on forest fires.
Earlier in the day, motorcyclists are invited to meet at the CPO Club at 1080 W. Ault Field Road at 9 a.m. for a ride across Whidbey Island to honor POWs, MIAs and their families.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
Organizers plan to highlight the story of U.S. Navy Capt. Michael “Scott” Speicher at the ceremony, held at the Seaplane Base, east of downtown Oak Harbor.
Speicher's remains were found in August, ending 18 years of uncertainty about his fate. His F/A-18 Hornet fighter was shot down during a combat mission the first night of Operation Desert Storm in 1991.
The naval base typically holds a special ceremony each year to honor prisoners of war and those missing in action.
Guest speaker Lt. Cmdr. Brian Danielson helped excavate the remains of a missing service member in Laos as part of the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command. His father, who served in the Air Force, is listed as missing in action.
Electronic Attack Squadron 129 will perform a formation fly-by and the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Honor Guard will render honors with a 21-gun salute and taps.
At 1 p.m., aviation buffs can get a glimpse of a Consolidated PBY-6A Catalina, a utility aircraft used nearly 60 years ago on Whidbey Island to lug personnel, supplies and information to the Aleutian Islands. The plane scheduled to be shown Friday was later converted so it could drop water on forest fires.
Earlier in the day, motorcyclists are invited to meet at the CPO Club at 1080 W. Ault Field Road at 9 a.m. for a ride across Whidbey Island to honor POWs, MIAs and their families.
Debra Smith: 425-339-3197, dsmith@heraldnet.com.
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