The 86th POW/MIA Flag raising ceremony for Brevard County Public Schools (BPS)

Dear Media and Others who support Veterans and Our Youth,

You are invited to attend a possibly unique event in the entire country during this year plus of Covid. Please help us spread the word and join us if you can to watch:

• EVENT: THE 86th POW/MIA Flag for Brevard County Public Schools (BPS) to be raised.
• WHERE: MIMS Elementary School, 2582 US 1in Mims, FL
• DATE: Wednesday 11 May Rain or Shine at 1:15 PM
• SPONSORS: Led by Rolling Thunder, FL Chapter 1 , with support from the American Legion, VFW and the Good Deeds Foundation of the Cape Canaveral Chapter of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAACC), the BPS and others.

Hopefully many of you have attended one of the earlier ceremonies or watched it online via several broadcasts and seen it in several Brevard area printed and online media . Each ceremony has been different, but all special. The Schools receive not only the flag and as many as possible watch the solemn and informative program, but also materials about the POW/MIA Flag and those 72,491 (as of 01 April 2021) American military members still unaccounted for because they were last seen as prisoners or went missing.

Beyond the issue, however, has been the act of doing something special AT THE SCHOOLS during a time when many states offer only on line teaching still. The events with the rumbling RTFL-1 motorcycles and other veterans in organizational attire, remind students and staff how important veterans have been for our country. For us veterans it reminds us of our obligation to honor the missing and fallen as Memorial Day approaches, by reaching out to young Americans. The future belongs to them. While we hope the numbers needed to serve our country in the military will continue to a small percentage of our population, it will HAVE TO BE some of them. At each ceremony there have been tears and joy from the students and staff, and not just a few veterans.

BPS Statement: “On May 11^th, 2021, Rolling Thunder Florida Chapter 1 will raise the final three POW/MIA flags at three BPS campuses (Jackson, Pinewood, Mims). Part of a joint initiative between the school district and Rolling Thunder, a POW/MIA flag has been raised and will continue to fly on every BPS campus. Beginning with the district office in Viera on December 15^th, 2020, Rolling Thunder and partners have spent the last 5 months completing flag raising ceremonies at 86 different schools. Each school and ceremony has been a wonderful and different experience, including various student groups. Elementary safety patrols, musical ensembles, JROTC programs, social studies classes, student government leaders and more helped to make the event a success on each school campus. School board leaders, community partners, local veterans organizations, law enforcement and others we always out to support. In what has been a tough year for all, every school has expressed that this time spent raising the POW/MIA flag and learning more about this topic, has been one of the bright spots.”

Please contact RTFL-1 organizers Mike Schulze (rtfl-1 email above) or Donn Weaver (757-871-6576 and email above) for any questions. We hope to see many of you there for this great milestone.