POCATELLO — The 13th annual POW*MIA Awareness Rally will be held July 26 through 28 at the Bannock County Fairgrounds, off Olympus Drive in Pocatello. Admission for the entire weekend is just $10 with veterans and anyone younger than 18 getting in free. The rally begins July 26 at 9 a.m., and finishes up July 28 after 11 a.m. Events include a motorcycle rodeo, Show n’ Shine with $750 in prize money, a kids’ area, mud and bike drags, plus lots of food, vendors and live music. Special guest of honor will be Lt. Col. David F. Gray Jr., ex-POW who spent seven years in the Hanoi Hilton. He is a veteran of the Vietnam War. Gray received his pilot training at Webb Air Force Base in Texas, and F-4C fighter training at Davis-Monthan AFB in Arizona. Jan. 23, 1967, while assigned to the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, Ubon AFB in Thailand, he was shot down and captured while on a combat mission over North Vietnam. He served as an honorable prisoner of war for the next six years and two months. He was released March 4, 1973, during Operation Homecoming. Today, Lt. Col. Gray is the chief, Electronic Combat Ranges Office, Electronic Combat Deputate at the U.S. Air Force Air Warfare Center, Eglin AFB, Florida. Section Eight will do a fly by July 27 at noon during the tribute ceremony at the fairgrounds. The P51-D Mustang, built in 1944 in Dallas, Texas, has never seen combat, but has had six civilian owners, including the current owner, Jeff Driscoll, from American Falls. The POW*MIA Motorcycle Rodeo takes off July 27 at 1 p.m., at the fairgrounds. Like livestock rodeos except on motorcycles, there are individual rider events and passenger events. These are the slow race, keg push, balloon toss and weenie bite, to name a few. Prize money is worth $2,000 and there will be prizes for first, second and third, best sportsman. The half-time entertainment will be the loudest pipes competition. Also on July 27 there will be the Hard Rock Concert, with Snake Bones as the opening act at 7:30 p.m., followed by the main act, the American Hitmen at 10 p.m., both at the Main Stage. The American Hitmen are ex-Marines who served in Iraq. Snake Bones are a popular local band.
Posted on: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 20:37:38 +0000
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