Rolling Thunder to have candlelight ceremony

Rolling Thunder of Florence will be doing a candlelight ceremony Friday at Florence Veteran’s Park in observance of National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

A flag retreat will take place at 7 p.m., followed by the candlelight vigil and a wreath laying at 7:30 p.m.

Rolling Thunder erected a POW/MIA monument in the Florence Veteran’s Park in March.

“Since Friday is POW/MIA Recognition Day, Rolling Thunder will be doing a candlelight vigil with a brief program dedicated to all of our present and former POW/MIA’s,” said CB Anderson, president of Rolling Thunder Chapter 4.

Rolling Thunder’s major functions are to publicize the POW/MIA issue, to inform the public that many American prisoners of war were left behind after past wars, to help correct the past and to protect the future veterans from being left behind should they become prisoners of war or missing in action.

“We are committed to helping American veterans from all wars,” Anderson said. “Rolling Thunder is a nonprofit organization and our members donate their time because they believe in the POW/MIA issue.”

The park is located beside the lower level of Florence Civic Center.