Marin County will host the 2nd Annual POW/MIA Recognition Day on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium in San Rafael. The event is free and open to the public, and is hosted by the Marin Alliance for the American Spirit (MAAS), a nonprofit dedicated to honoring active duty soldiers and veterans. The County of Marin is co-sponsoring the event.
A formal ceremony paying tribute to all veterans will take place from 11 a.m. to noon, followed by a barbecue with live music provided by Doc Kraft’s Band. The barbecue social hour will be MC’d by renowned keynote speaker Michael Pritchard, a champion of nonprofit causes.
Organizations that provide services to vets and active-duty soldiers will have booths in the back lobby of the auditorium from 10-11 a.m. and 1-3 p.m. following the program. This will be the first “Veterans Connect” event to be hosted by Marin County, and MAAS and will include Legal Aid of Marin, CalFresh, General Assistance, College of Marin, Veterans Business Outreach Center and more.
The formal ceremony speakers will include Steve Countouriotis, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Barbara Robertson, the wife of an Air Force pilot who is still missing in Southeast Asia. Music will be provided by Travis Brass with A1C Rebecca Allen. There will be a missing man flyover during the outdoor portion of the event to remember our fallen soldiers.
In 1979, Congress passed a resolution authorizing National POW/MIA Recognition Day for Americans to remember the nation’s prisoners of war (POWs) and soldiers who are missing in action (MIAs) as well as their families. Each year the President proclaims National POW/MIA Recognition Day on the third Friday of September, and local events are organized by veterans across the county. The POW/MIA flag, which pictures the silhouette of a soldier with the slogan, “You Are Not Forgotten,” is flown to mark the day.
The Dept. of Defense puts the total of MIAs at 87,000 and 142,000 POWS – 17,000 of whom died while interned – since World War II.
Supporters of the Sept. 28 event in San Rafael include the Marin County United Veterans Council, the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Army- National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Marin chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Blue Star Moms of Marin, the House of Steel gym in San Rafael, the U.S. Marine Corps, Woodlands Market, Mollie Stone’s Markets, United Markets, Bay City Riders, the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, DeNador & Associates, the Garbarino Family, Ghilotti Brothers Inc. and MarinLink.
The mission of the nonprofit Marin Alliance for the American Spirit is to develop and present educational programs that foster patriotism and a sense of community, and to host events honoring active duty soldiers, veterans and their families. You can find MAAS on Facebook in addition to its website.
