For Immediate Release
June 13, 2005

Media Advisory
SONS AND DAUGHTERS IN TOUCH TO MARK 15th ANNIVERSARY
WITH SPECIAL FATHER’S DAY CEREMONY AT THE WALL

Sunday, June 19 Ceremony To Begin at 10:00 a.m.
Event To Feature Missing Man Flyover and ‘Gold Star’ Pins To Be Awarded by DoD
SDIT Members and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Volunteers To Lay 1,500 Roses at Memorial

WASHINGTON, D.C. – More than 1,000 sons, daughters, widows, grandchildren, comrades and their families will gather at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Father’s Day (Sunday, June 19) to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of Sons and Daughters In Touch (SDIT) and to honor the more than 20,000 fathers who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam.

WHO:

Members of Sons and Daughters In Touch – a national network of grown children whose fathers never returned from Vietnam

Other ceremony participants include:

  • Brigadier General Richard Y. Newton III, USAF, Deputy Director for Global Operations, Operations Directorate, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.
  • James V. Kimsey, Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Board Member and America Online Founding CEO
  • Leaders from national veterans organizations
  • Families of American KIAs and MIAs from other wars, spanning Korea to Iraq
  • Honor guard from the Military District of Washington
  • Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund volunteers

SDIT Founder & President Tony Cordero, whose father, Maj. William Cordero, USAF, was killed in the Vietnam War, will serve as the event’s master of ceremonies. Maj. Cordero’s name can be found on Panel 2 East, Line 15.
   
WHAT:

SDIT, in conjunction with the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and the National Park Service, will be holding a special Father’s Day Ceremony – “Remembering Our Fathers” – as part of its 15th Anniversary Celebration in Washington, D.C.

The event is designed to honor the more than 20,000 American fathers who were killed or remain missing from the Vietnam War. Highlights include a special pin ceremony in which SDIT members will receive a “Gold Star” from the Department of Defense, and a U.S. Air Force “Missing Man” Flyover.

The ceremony will conclude with a processional of SDIT members, Memorial Fund volunteers and veterans to The Wall where 1,500 red, yellow and white roses will be placed along the Memorial’s base. The red roses represent those killed in action, the yellow signify those who remain missing and the white are for America’s most recent casualties.
   
WHEN:

Sunday, June 19, Father’s Day Ceremony at 10:00 a.m.

Starting at 8:00 a.m., SDIT members and Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund volunteers will begin affixing messages from across the country onto the roses. This pre-ceremony event will take place across the street from The Wall at the corner of 21st Street & Constitution Avenue.
   
WHERE: East Knoll, Vietnam Veterans Memorial
21st Street & Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.
   
WHY:

More than 58,000 U.S. service members made the ultimate sacrifice during the Vietnam War; of that number over one-third were fathers. This year marks the 15th anniversary of SDIT’s inception and the 30th Anniversary of the “official” end to the Vietnam War.

More than 1,000 sons, daughters, widows, grandchildren, family members and veterans will be gathering from June 16-19 in Washington, D.C. to remember those fathers who died or remain missing in Vietnam. The four days of events will include several poignant visits to The Wall, sharing circles, a June 17 artists’ forum and a June 18 awards banquet.

About Sons & Daughters In Touch
For 15 years, Sons and Daughters In Touch (www.sdit.org) has worked to locate, unite and provide support to the now-grown children of American servicemen who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Vietnam War. In that time, more than 3,000 members have been able to contact veterans who served with their fathers, visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, travel to Vietnam to the areas where their fathers lost their lives, share their life experiences with others and take pride in knowing that the loss of their fathers was not in vain.

About the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
Established in 1979, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (www.vvmf.org) is the non-profit organization authorized by Congress to build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  Today, through a series of outreach programs, it is dedicated to preserving the legacy of The Wall; promoting healing; educating about the impact of the Vietnam War; and is building the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Center, an underground educational facility near The Wall.

For more information:  
Alan Greilsamer
Sons & Daughters In Touch
(703) 760-7007 office
(703) 201-2508 mobile
agreilsamer@communications-resources.com		 JoAnn Mangione
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund
(202) 393-0090 x109 office

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