Annual POW/MIA ceremony set for Sept. 15
NAS Meridian in partnership with the 186th Air Refueling Wing of the Mississippi Air National Guard will host the 2016 POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony on Thursday, Sept. 15 at 10 a.m. at Meridian's City Hall, 3rd floor. The ceremony is open to the public.
This annual event honors those missing service members and their families, and highlights the government's commitment to account for them. Across the country, local POW/MIA ceremonies are encouraged throughout POW/MIA Recognition Week, culminating with countless events and the national ceremony in Washington, DC, on Recognition Day Sept. 16. Nearly 4,400 American military personnel remain missing from World War I; 73,126 from World War II; 7,802 from the Korean War; 126 from the Cold War; 1,618 from the Vietnam War; and six from Iraq and other wars.
The guest speaker for the event will be retired U.S. Army Colonel Quin Herlik. He entered the Army as a 2nd Lieutenant of Field Artillery in 1955 and retired 30 years later as a colonel. His service varied between assignments in command and staff in both artillery and aviation branches of the Army.
Colonel Herlik served as chief of staff on the Joint Task Force in Alaska and as Operations Chief on the President's 747 Airborne Command Post. He also commanded an artillery Battery and Group in Germany. He was commanding an aviation company in Vietnam in 1969 when he was shot down and captured in Cambodia.
He flew more than 4,000 hours in 19 types of Army aircraft and helicopters including 912 hours under combat conditions while flying 478 missions over South Vietnam.
A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Colonel Herlik received a bachelor of science degree from St. Norbert College and a master's in business administration from Central Michigan University.
His awards and decorations include the Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal, 25 Air Medals (1 with V Device) and Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster and several other service and campaign medals. He also is the holder of the Master Army Aviation Wings and the Joints Chief of Staff Identification Badge.
Colonel Herlik and his wife reside in Augusta, Georgia. Upon his retirement from the Army, he worked in real estate sales and management. He is active in Veterans Affairs and is a past commander of the American Ex-Prisoners of War in Georgia. He is currently the commander of the Greater Augusta Chapter of American Ex-POWS.
