Montgomery County commissioners joined veterans and their families in a solemn ceremony in observance of POW/MIA Recognition Day at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial outside the Montgomery County Court House in Norristown Friday morning.
“Perhaps our greatest testament to our POWs and MIAs is not just that we gather today,” said Commissioner Josh Shapiro, “but that we in Montgomery County are unified behind the notion that we must stand up for all veterans … and in the case of our POW/MIAs, to say we will never forget them.”
Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh recalled, as a youth, wearing the POW bracelet of Air Force Col. Herschel Scott Morgan, who was imprisoned in Hanoi from 1965 to 1973, and the excitement she felt when she learned of his safe return.
Arkoosh recited excerpts of a letter written by Morgan upon his repatriation, which read, “After thanking God, I thank you, the people of the Unites States of America, you who did not forget us.”
In the letter, Morgan also paid tribute to the casualties of war “who unselfishly gave their lives, making the supreme sacrifice for you and for me, so that we may enjoy the privilege of living free in the Unites States of America. These men are the true heroes.”
