Melrose to Rededicate POW/MIA Chair of Honor to Naval Pilot

To commemorate National POW/MIA Recognition Day, Melrose will be having a rededication ceremony of its POW/MIA Chair of Honor to a naval pilot on Friday morning at Memorial Hall, according to a city press statement. 

The ceremony is slated for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 20 at the steps of Memorial Hall.

"The city of Melrose will rededicate its POW/MIA Chair of Honor, naming the chair after naval pilot Carleton P. Miller Jr. whose remains were lost at sea during the Vietnam War," reads the statement. The POW/MIA Chair of Honor was unveiled at City Hall on Jan. 22.

In a Melrose Patch blog post, Veteran Services Officer Ryan McLane wrote, "Melrose is home to LTJG Carleton P. Miller Jr., a Vietnam Veteran whose remains are still unaccounted for after his F4J Phantom fighter aircraft was lost off the USS Ranger 70 miles east of the North Vietnamese city of Ron. Jan. 6 marked the 42nd anniversary of LTJG Miller’s sacrifice for his country."

For Friday's ceremony, McLane will provide opening remarks, followed by a reading of the Carleton P. Miller Jr. National POW/MIA official report, comments from the Miller family and Rolling Thunder MA1 President Joe D’Entremont, an unveiling of the POW/MIA Chair of Honor and closing remarks.

"We invite the public to attend our special ceremony and pay tribute to the more than 83,000 U.S. service members still serving as prisoners of war and missing in action," reads the statement.

For more information, call 781-979-4186.