Rolling Thunder to dedicate POW/MIA bench

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BROOKINGS – Rolling Thunder SD Chapter 2 will dedicate a POW/MIA bench on the Brookings County Courthouse lawn this weekend.

The bench is being donated in honor of the 85,000 prisoners of war and missing in action still unaccounted for from World War I, World War II, Cold War, Korea and Vietnam. The dedication will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 4, next to the memorial on the west side of the courthouse. All are welcome to the dedication.

Rolling Thunder is a national organization whose mission is to publicize POW-MIA issues:  To educate the public that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect future veterans from being left behind should they become Prisoners of War-Missing in Action. The organization is also committed to helping American veterans from all wars.

The Brookings chapter has been donating benches to veterans memorials since 2014 to honor and to remind people that there are still POW/MIAs unaccounted for.  It has contributed benches at veterans memorials in Estelline, Arlington, DeSmet, Flandreau, Milbank, Volga, Aurora, Bruce and at South Dakota State University.