Connellsville Township
Vietnam vet to serve as keynote speaker at POW/MIA ceremony CONNELLSVILLE TWP. – A Vietnam veteran will serve as the keynote speaker Aug. 28 when the community remembers those who have yet to return home to their families.
The Prisoner of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) ceremony will be held at noon at the Connellsville National Guard Readiness Center with local attorney Charles W. Watson as the guest speaker.
Watson served as a sergeant with the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division while in Vietnam and received numerous awards for his service, including the Bronze Star.
A 1965 graduate of Dunbar Township High School, he attended Indiana University of Pennsylvania where he received his bachelor of science degree in accounting. He received his law degree from the Dickenson School of Law in 1974.
Today, Watson is the managing partner of the Dunbar Township law firm of Watson Mundorff Brooks & Sepic.
Vietnam War veteran and former Connellsville Area School District superintendent Gerald Browell will serve as master of ceremonies for the event.
American Legion Post 301 Secretary Thomas W. McFadden said that the ceremony would pay tribute to Fayette County veterans who lost their lives during the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq and the Pennsylvania Vietnam War veterans that remain unaccounted for by the military.
Also taking part in the ceremony will be the American Legion Riders; Jim Smith, American Legion Post 301 vice president and service officer; the Molinaro Band and the Rev. Dennis M. Roser, pastor of the Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Connellsville.
The National Guard Readiness Center is located at 701 Petersburg Road in Connellsville Township.
The public is welcome to attend.