All invited to Vietnam Vets park dedication May 25 in Seattle

UPDATE — The keynote speaker for this event will be Marine 4-Star General and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.

SEATTLE — All union members and their families are cordially invited on Memorial Day weekend to join the Museum of Flight for the momentous opening and dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park. The dedication ceremony will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 25 at the park located behind the museum’s Aviation Pavilion, 9305 E. Marginal Way S.

The new park’s centerpiece will be one of the Museum of Flight’s largest and most iconic aircraft, the Boeing B-52G Stratofortress 59-2584 Midnight Express, which has been restored to its former glory. The park will also feature a memorial statue and a tribute wall with personalized messages people have inscribed to honor the veterans in their lives.

“There are few, if any, organizations whose members who are more patriotic, more appreciative of our freedoms insured by our military personnel than members of Organized Labor. I know this because my dad was a World War II vet and a Teamster for 27 years,” writes Jim Farmer, a trustee at the Museum of Flight and a Vietnam veteran who piloted a B-52 at the conclusion of the war. “Please help me in extending invitations to all the affiliates of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO. I’d love to see each and every one of them there.”

Saturday’s inspiring dedication program will include aircraft fly-overs, a color guard presentation and a special pinning ceremony for Vietnam veterans in attendance to honor their service.

Admission to the Museum of Flight will be free for all veterans and a guest the weekend of May 25-27.

RSVP is requested, but not required.