A memorial inside the front door reminds everyone we in #MiddletownRI do not forget our POWs and MIAs, the subject of this month's "Where Am I?"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
“WHERE AM I?” ANSWER — APRIL 2023
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (APRIL 19, 2023) — Middletown is a military town.
The positive impacts of Naval Station Newport, the Naval War College and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center are felt everywhere across Aquidneck Island — and the entire region.
Based on the latest numbers, close to 30 percent of the overall student population of the Middletown schools are classified as “military.”
And it’s not uncommon to meet local residents who spent a year or two here during their time in the Navy and decided to move back to enjoy the scenic beauty, energy and heartbeat of the area.
But all that’s not the reason why there’s a memorial to soldiers who are missing in action and prisoners of war just inside the front door at Town Hall, 350 East Main Road.
It’s because it’s the right thing to do.
In November 2016, the Town Council welcomed a request from the Rolling Thunder to place a memorial chair in Town Hall to recognize POWs and soldiers who are MIA. Rolling Thunder is a national nonprofit dedicated to educate people that “many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all previous wars and to help correct the past and to protect future Veterans from being left behind should they become Prisoners of War- Missing In Action.”
The memorial is viewable during normal Town Hall business hours Mondays through Fridays from 8 am-4 pm. Visitors are asked to not touch the memorial in any way because of its hallowed nature.
It is one of several memorials across Middletown paying tribute to those in the military or who have served. For a list of those locations, please visit https://mdl.town/Facilities online.
April is also the “Month Of The Military Child,” with events planned across the school district to commemorate those activities.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/8381/WAI-Answer-April-23