Hundreds Gather for Bay Pines POW-MIA Remembrance Ceremony

General News

An emotional and solemn crowd of about 300 gathered at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center for the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System’s POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony on September 13.  Click here to watch the video story. Official POW/MIA insignia and flags were visible with every turn of the head as former prisoners of war, their loved ones, VA leaders and members of the community recognized the service and sacrifice of those held captive during wartime and those who never returned. Keynote speaker for the hour-long ceremony was retired U.S. Navy pilot Bradley E. Smith. Smith was held captive during the Vietnam War nearly seven years after his A-4 Skyhawk was shot out of the sky by the North Vietnamese Army on March 25, 1966. He was released on February 12, 1973 as part of Operation Homecoming after being held captive 2,516 days. During his speech, he recounted the horrors of captivity but also spoke to perseverance and the overall will to survive. Following the speech, Smith and Rolling Thunder, Chapter 11 members John Harrison and Larry Caldwell dedicated an FPOW/MIA Chair of Honor. The chair will be permanently placed in the medical center as a way to honor and recognize former prisoners of war, prisoners of war and the 91,000 service members still unaccounted for. Harrison also used the opportunity to present Smith with a POW/MIA bracelet. The iconic bracelets were created during the Vietnam War and worn by Americans across the country as a way to remember those held captive and missing in action.  Bay Pines VA leaders plan to make the POW/MIA Ceremony an annual event as a way to honor and remember the brave men and women that were kept from their families and those who have not yet returned. To learn more about events like this and health care services available, please visit www.baypines.va.gov. While you’re there, subscribe to receive email updates and connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. About Bay Visions News Brief Bay Visions News Brief is a video news product line developed by the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System Office of Public Affairs and Medical Media Services. The news videos complement Bay Visions – a quarterly magazine distributed to Veterans, family members, VA employees and Volunteers, members of the general public and other stakeholders. For questions about Bay Visions News Brief or to share a story, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at vhabaypublicaffairs@va.gov.

About Jeff Cavanagh

Jeff Cavanagh spent his freshman year at St. Petersburg Junior College back in the early 70s before enlisting in the United States Navy. Soon after, he attended Jacksonville University on a Navy ROTC scholarship. After college, he was commissioned and became a qualified Surface Warfare Officer spending the next 22 years honing his skills as a ship-handler and expert recruiter before retiring in 1994. Jeff expresses a deep sense of pride in St. Petersburg College due to connections that go back many years. His father, Tom Cavanagh, was a career Air Force fighter pilot and combat veteran who taught Geography and Western Civilization at St. Petersburg Junior College in the 60’s and 70’s.