November 29, 2007

Pearl Harbor Day program to be held at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King

(MADISON) – The Wisconsin Veterans Home at King will host a ceremony to commemorate the observance of Pearl Harbor Day, at the Home on Friday, December 7, 2007, at 7:30 a.m. in the Marden Center.

The keynote speaker will be Lieutenant Colonel Vincent B. Barker formerly of the U.S. Marine Corps, who served on active duty from 1981-84 and received his commission from the Army ROTC program at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1987. Lt. Col. Barker is currently the Commander of the 757th Transportation Battalion in the U.S. Army Reserve in Milwaukee and has served in a variety of positions in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve. He mobilized in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom from September 2003 to March 2004 and was later mobilized again for two years from Ft. McCoy. His family history goes back to ancestors serving in every conflict since the beginning of the nation, including the Revolutionary War, both sides of the Civil War, and three uncles who were World War II combat veterans.

The Master of Ceremonies will be Charles Taylor, a retired U.S. Navy veteran who is the past State and National Commander of AMVETS, the nation’s third largest veterans organization. While serving over 21 years in the Navy, Taylor served three deployments in the Gulf of Tonkin in Vietnam and received the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm among other honors.

The Waupaca High School Band, under the direction of Mark Kryshak, will perform several patriotic selections and will sound Taps. The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Military Funeral Honors Team and the Wisconsin Veterans Home Military Funeral Honors Team will post the colors and fire the traditional volleys.

For more information on this program, contact Wisconsin Veterans Home representative Shari McCann at (715) 258-7409 or shari.mccann@dva.wisconsin.gov.

The Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs will also host a Pearl Harbor Day ceremony at the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove, at 10:00 a.m. in Boland Hall.

For further information about these and other WDVA events, go to www.dva.state.wi.us/Events or call toll-free 1-800-WIS-VETS (947-8387).