POW*MIA Grove of Honor Dedication

On Wednesday September 22nd, Chapter members attended the Saluting Branches event at the Indiana Veterans Home in Lafayette Indiana. The Saluting Branches mission is to honor American service men and women by organizing volunteers to provide tree and landscape care for the property dedicated to our veterans. This is a nationwide event that happens every year in September.

The POW*MIA Grove of Honor was planted in 2019 in honor of our 51 Indiana heroes that are still listed as missing from the Vietnam War. In 2020, Rolling Thunder® Indiana Chapter One had the boulder put in place and officially dedicated the POW*MIA Grove on Honor on Wednesday September 22, 2021 during the Saluting Branches opening ceremony. 

Chapter Members along with the Director of the Indiana    Department of Veterans Affairs, Dennis Whimer and  Carrie Tauscher the State Community & Urban Forestry(CUF) Coordinator Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Forestry.

The plaque mounted on the boulder reads “For those who answered the call to duty and have yet to return to family and home, Who are listed among the Prisoners of War (POW) and those Missing in Action (MIA), This Grove of Trees is planted in their honor that  "THEY ARE NOT FORGOTTEN”

The POW*MIA Gove of Honor was planted in 2019 in honor of our Indiana 51 Vietnam War POWs and MIAs.

Arborist and Rolling Thunder® members planted the POW*MIA Grove of Honor.

During the dedication ceremony, Rolling Thunder® called the name of the Vietnam War MIA and the arborist laid a hat at the based on the tree with the name of the MIA.

Special thanks to Dennis Whimer, the Indiana Veterans Home for allowing this special grove of trees to be planted on these grounds, Alan Drane of the Indianapolis Stone Center for donating the boulder, Zach White of Wilson Crane of Lafayette for donating his service putting the boulder in place, Chapter member Michael Kraner for mounting the plaque on the boulder, and Carrie Tauscher, State Community & Urban Forestry(CUF) Coordinator Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry, for allowing Rolling Thunder® to be part of this special project. 

Rolling Thunder® Mission Statement

“The major function of Rolling Thunder^®, Inc. is to publicize POW-MIA issues. To educate the public that many American Prisoners of War were left behind after all past 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. We are also committed to helping American veterans from all wars.”

POW*MIA Chairs of Honor

The placement of these special chairs are in honor of those who answered the call to duty and have yet to return to family and home, who are listed among the Prisoners of War (POW) and those Missing in Action (MIA).
 
They will be a beacon to all that see them to remind them that freedom isn’t free and to never forget the sacrifices, and hardships that our POWs and MIAs have endured in the defense of our freedom, and the sacrifices, and hardships that our Military Service Members endure every day in defense of this great Nation.
 
These special Chairs of Honor are physical symbols of the 82,000 American Service Members who are listed as Unaccounted-For Nationwide since WWII.

Indiana alone has 1,505 MIAs from WWII, 172 from the Korean War, and 51 from the Vietnam War.
 
These Chairs of Honor are reserved as a seat of honor that THEY ARE NOT FORGOTTEN”.

Click on the picture for more details on the specific Chair of Honor.

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated November 2, 2014 Lucas Oil Stadium 500 S Capitol Ave Indianapolis, IN 46225 Chair is located in section 423

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated January 11, 2016   Indiana State House  200 W Washington Street Indianapolis, IN 46204

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated May 26, 2016 Indiana War Memorial 431 N Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46204

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated November 19, 2016 Indiana Farmers Coliseum 1202 E 38th Street Indianapolis, IN 46205

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated April 1, 2017 Coachman Restaurant 6112 Cambridge Way  Plainfield, IN 46168

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated May 25, 2017 Indianapolis International Airport 7800 Col H Weir Cook Mem Drive Indianapolis, IN 46241 Chair is located in Baggage Claim Next to the USO

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated November 12, 2017 Bankers Life Field House 125 S Pennsylvania St, Indianapolis, IN 46204

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated July 1, 2018 Covington Court House 301 4th Street COURTHOUSE Covington IN 47932

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated November 9, 2018   Indiana Military Veterans Hall of Fame  East 56th Street and Herbert Lord Road Lawrence, IN

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated September 7, 2019 Grissom Air Museum 1000 West Hoosier Boulevard Peru, IN 46970

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated September 15, 2019 Indiana Veterans Memorial Cemetery 1415 Msh North Gate Road Madison, IN 47250

POW*MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated September 19, 2019 Plainfield High School 1 Red Pride Drive Plainfield, IN 46168

The Chapter is working on POW*MIA Chairs for Honor for the following Venues.

Purdue University
Carmel High School
Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

We are looking forward to having POW*MIA Chairs of Honor displays at these special venues.

Rolling Thunder® Indiana Chapter One considers the dedication of these special Chairs of Honor as part of our mission in bringing awareness to the public about our Nation’s POWs and MIAs.

Rolling Thunder® Indiana Chapter One is a nonprofit organization and relies on donations from Sponsors and Individuals to have the necessary funds to carry on with our POW/MIA mission and special projects like the POW*MIA Chairs of Honor.

If you feel that are mission is important, and needs to carry on, please consider being a sponsor or make an in-kind donation. Please click on the below URL to get the details on our sponsorship program.

Rolling Thunder® Indiana Chapter One Sponsorship Program

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Message from the President

Thank you for taking the time to visit our web site. The above mission statement tells you what Rolling Thunder®, Inc. Indiana Chapter 1 is all about.  Rolling Thunder®, Inc. Indiana Chapter 1 is a group of American Citizens - Veterans and non-Veterans - that have a strong belief that there are still several unresolved Prisoner of War (POW) and Missing In Action (MIA) cases from all past wars that need to be fully investigated, especially Vietnam.

Some people are under the impression that Rolling Thunder®, Inc. is a Motorcycle Club. Rolling Thunder®, Inc. is not a motorcycle club, but a group of Veterans and non-Veterans that help bring awareness to the public that we still have War-Fighters that have not come home and they must NOT be Forgotten. Some of us ride Motorcycles because they make noise and get people’s attention. Once we get their attention, we can tell them about our POW/MIA mission and what the Chapter is doing to help our Indiana War-Fighters and Veterans.

Rolling Thunder®, Inc. has four Chapters within Indiana. All four Chapters are involved in bringing awareness to the public about POWs, MIAs, and helping our Indiana Veterans in need.

Rolling Thunder® Indiana uses several tools to help bring awareness to the public. Some of these tools include, the Missing Man Table ceremony, the Roll Call ceremony, the Indiana POW/MIA License Plate, POW/MIA Flag Raising Ceremonies, and the POW*MIA Chair of Honor displays.

Rolling Thunder® Indiana Chapter 1 has installed POW*MIA Chairs of Honor in multiple venues throughout Indiana. The purpose of these special Chairs of Honor is remind the public that not all of our War-Fighters have come home and they MUST NOT be FORGOTTEN. They also send a message to the love ones of our POWs and MIAs that their love one will not be forgotten. We hope to install many more of these special Chairs of Honor throughout Indiana. Listed above are the POW*MIA Chairs of Honor that the Chapter has dedicated to date. If you would like to have a POW*MIA Chair of Honor in your venue, please contact me at the below email address.

The Indiana POW/MIA License Plate is another important tool that Rolling Thunder® Indiana has to help bring awareness to the public about our POWs and MIAs. 100% of the proceeds collected from the sale of the POW/MIA License Plate is deposited into the Indiana Military Family Relief Fund (MFRF), which is used to provide our Indiana War-Fighters, Veterans, and their families a helping hand when needed. The Indiana POW/MIA License Plate is available through the Bureau of Motor Vehicle (BMV). Please ask for the POW/MIA License Plate the next time you visit the BMV.

The Chapter is very active with our POW/MIA mission and I hope that you will consider attending one of our Chapter meetings to see what we are all about. Please take a few minutes and scroll down the menu bar to the left of the webpage for more information on our Chapter. Our Chapter Calendar of Events is located under the Chapter Activities menu, or you can click on the below Link.

 Chatper Calendar of Events

Again, thank you for visiting our web site and I hope to see you at our next Chapter meeting.

Michael Clark
Rolling Thunder®, Inc., Indiana Chapter 1
President
mike.clark@indianarollingthunder.com