POW/MIA Remembrance Vigil This Weekend

Published on September 14, 2020

Morris County American Legion & All Veterans Alliance Hosting

The Third Annual POW/MIA Remembrance 24-Hour Vigil will be held starting 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18 and continue until 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 at the All Veterans Memorial in Mount Olive Township's Turkey Brook Park.

The event, located at 30 Flanders Road in the Budd Lake section of the township, coincides with National POW/MIA Recognition Day and is being hosted by the Morris County American Legion with the participation of the All Veterans Alliance.

(JPG, 182KB)The opening ceremony will begin at 4:00pm Friday, with a closing ceremony to be held 4:00pm Saturday. Throughout the vigil, participants will maintain a Memorial Fire, read the names of all 3,700 New Jersey veterans unaccounted for from all wars and ring the "Ascension Bell" 21 times on the hour, every hour to honor their memory.

Individuals and organizations are invited to participate in the vigil, as well as media, with prior coordination through the American Legion. The event is free to both participants and the public. Morris County Commander Amery Vasso is the media and event participation contact, and he may be reached at 973-349-4777 or by email: trupaladin7@msn.com.

The event will include cadets from the Mount Olive High School Air Force JROTC hiking 14 miles to commemorate the Bataan Death March. The commemorative march honors the 60,000 - 80,000 American and Filipino POWs who were forcibly marched 66 miles in 1942 during a five-day trek that left approximately 18,000 dead.

The Morris County American Legion represents 2,300 members in 21 Posts throughout Morris County. To learn more visit the website at http://www.legionmorriscountynj.org/.(JPG, 467KB)

The All Veterans Alliance vision is to provide needed outreach services and support to those who have honorably served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces at home or abroad. The organization also provides educational and military support opportunities to individuals, schools, and organizations that seek to fulfill community service mandates.

To learn more visit the website at https://www.allveteransmemorial.org/outreach.html.