WESTMINSTER : Ceremony to Honor Vietnam MIAs
A special flag-raising ceremony in honor of Vietnam veterans still missing in action or presumed to be held captive will be held in Westminster Saturday morning.
The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. at the Civic Center, 8200 Westminster Blvd. It is sponsored by Vietnam Veterans Reunited, a support group made up of local Vietnam veterans.
“We seek to make everyone aware that there are still 2,333 men unaccounted for in Vietnam,” said Bob Kakuk, head of the organization. “In addition, we want to make sure people never forget about our brothers and sisters who fell in Vietnam and about those who came back.”
Kakuk, 43, served in Vietnam in 1968-69. He said the ceremony will feature the raising of an MIA/POW flag and speeches by former prisoners of war from World War II and the Korean War, and by family members of Vietnam POWs.
“We include veterans from the earlier wars because there are 78,773 men unaccounted for from World War II and 8,177 from the Korean War,” Kakuk said.
Vietnam Veterans Reunited has held similar ceremonies, which are open to the public, in Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Garden Grove and San Clemente.
Vietnam Veterans Reunited meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month in the Huntington Beach Elks Lodge, 20480 Talbert Ave., Fountain Valley.
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