State Museum to honor veterans and military personnel on May 3

Photo courtesy S.C. State Museum Congressional Medal of Honor recipient John F. Baker Jr. will speak at a special ceremony, "A Salute to Heroes," as the South Carolina State Museum holds Military Tribute Day on Saturday, May 3, to honor the brave and dedicated men and women who have served and who continue to serve in our country's military branches. COLUMBIA - Vietnam War veteran and Congressional Medal of Honor recipient John F. Baker Jr. will be the principal speaker at a special ceremony entitled "A Salute to Heroes" as the South Carolina State Museum pays tribute on Saturday, May 3, to the brave and dedicated men and women who have served and who continue to serve in our country's military branches. Baker's presentation will be held at 11 a.m.

As another part of this day of patriotic programs and honors, called Military Tribute Day, Phil Butler, director of the Governor's Office of Veterans' Affairs, will offer a special salute to Vietnam veterans by reading the Governor's proclamation on Vietnam Veterans Survivors and Remembrance Day. The ceremony will feature music by members of the Fort Jackson Army Band and a Fort Jackson children's chorus.

Many veterans groups and military organizations, including a group of World War II veterans of the Guadalcanal campaign which will hold a reunion in Columbia on May 3 and 4, have been invited to attend the ceremony, which will be followed by a light reception.

Military Tribute Day also will feature living history reenactors, military vehicles from World War II through Desert Storm, a militarythemed scavenger hunt for children and much more.

The day is held in conjunction with the State Museum's military-themed exhibits "Seeds of Change: South Carolina and the Great War 1917- 1918" and "Tet: Military Victory, Political Defeat."

In addition, veterans and active duty military personnel will receive free admission to the State Museum on this day.

The museum is presenting Military Tribute Day in partnership with the Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum and the Celebrate Freedom Foundation, whose primary missions are to educate children, promote patriotism and honor the military, past, present and future.