POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony

General News

Join the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System (VAHCS) for a special POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony on Tuesday, September 13, 2016 at 10:00 a.m.  The event will take place in the courtyard located between buildings 2 and 37 at the C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center located at 10000 Bay Pines, Blvd., Bay Pines, FL 33744.  For driving directions and a campus map, please visit www.baypines.va.gov/locations/directions.asp.

Keynote speaker for the event will be U.S. Navy Commander (ret.) Bradley E. Smith.  Commander Smith is a Former Prisoner of War (FPOW) held captive nearly seven years during the Vietnam War.  Read his bio here: www.pownetwork.org/bios/s/s104.htm.  A special POW/MIA remembrance chair will also be dedicated during the ceremony.

Vietnam Veterans who attend the event will receive a special lapel pin as part of the Bay Pines VAHCS’s continued commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War.

Parking for the ceremony will be available nearby. Shuttles will provide transportation for guests from parking lots to the courtyard. The venue is handicapped accessible. A sign language interpreter will be available for the hearing impaired. The ceremony will be held rain or shine. Please plan appropriately for inclement weather.

For more information, please connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/vabaypines, Twitter at twitter.com/vabaypines or call 727-398-6661, extension 17727.

The official event flyer is attached to this email to share with others who may be interested in attending.

POW_MIA_2016.pdf

MEDIA CONTACT: Jason W. Dangel Public Affairs Officer Bay Pines VA Healthcare System 727.398.9531 | jason.dangel@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.