THE NATIONAL POW/MIA MEMORIAL & MUSEUM Phase 1
The National POW/MIA Memorial & Museum honors, educates and celebrates with respect to America’s Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Service Members is vital. History, emotion, patriotism and pride are prerequisites to the creation of a sacred place that honors the bravest that continue to preserve our nation.
The National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum promises to uphold the trust shared by all Americans and those that serve that the value of the men and women who fight for freedom and liberty is incalculable.
PHASE I – Honors and remembers Naval Air Station Cecil Field (1941-1999) as a Master Jet Base. Where service members served and paid the ultimate sacrifice stationed at the base.
With the help of the nation, Cecil Field POW/MIA Memorial, Inc. is raising funds to make this memorial a true national honor to all POW/MIA personnel from every state in America. These funds will enable the organization to accomplish Phase 1 of the project.
Phase 1 Area of Detail
Phase I includes the Chapel restoration and area to the north of the Chapel which will display the four (4) aircraft that flew out of Cecil Field. The Chapel restoration is nearing completion.
The jet display and memorial brick areas have been designed, permitted, and the project is 59% funded.
The form is not published.
The proposal to build the Cecil Field Prisoners of War and Missing in Action Museum is a great opportunity to honor the service members who did not return home from war.
The POW/MIA Memorial would serve to honor those who fought selflessly and tirelessly to preserve our American values and way of life. This monument would be a haven of reverence, so we may remember them and pay respects to our nation's heroes.
Your proposal to use part of the former Naval Air Station Cecil Field for a POW/MIA Memorial is a fitting location to pay tribute to this very special group. Given that Mary Hoff, the creator of the POW/MIA flag, is a long-time resident of Jacksonville, and that her husband, Lieutenant Commander Michael G. Hoff, is memorialized at Cecil Field, there could not be a more appropriate site for the POW/MIA Memorial.
I am in full support of your organization's efforts to establish a memorial and museum honoring our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action on the grounds of former Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida. I was proud to serve in two assignments at NAS Cecil Field. First, as a pilot in the VA-44 Replacement Air Group squadron in 1966, and as Commanding Officer of Replacement Air Group VA-174 "Hellrazors" at Cecil Field from 1976 to 1977, then the largest aviation squadron in the U.S. Navy.