The Reno Aces' POW/MIA seat.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
The Reno Aces celebrate the Fourth of July on Thursday and Military Appreciation Night on Saturday.
The Aces are hosting the Sacramento River Cats for the weekend series with games starting at 6:35 p.m. Fireworks will follow both the Fourth of July and Military Appreciation games as well as the Friday night game.
Fans are encouraged to arrive at Greater Nevada Field an hour before the first pitch is thrown on Military Appreciation Night.
According to A.J. Grimm, the Aces’ marketing director, the pregame on Military Appreciation Night will feature a swearing in ceremony for 25 participants who are entering the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coat Guard and National Guard.
The men and women will take their oath in front of the Reno fans along the third-base side.
This year, he said the Nevada Army National Guard is presenting the colors. The Tactical Air Support will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.
Grimm said four military vehicles will be displayed on the front plate.
“The Army Guard, Air National Guard, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines will have tables set up for fans to learn more about them,” he said.
Additionally, Grimm said the Aces are encouraging fans to wear red, white and blue to match their Patriotic Weekend jerseys.
Between the visitor and home halves of the second inning. The Aces and the Vietnam Veterans Association Sierra Nevada Chapter 989 are working together on the evening. The VVA chapter also plans to rededicate its POW/MIA seat in section 118, which was unveiled in August 2019.
“POW/MIA seats are found across the nation, sports arenas, stadiums, town halls, state capitols … they’re all different, but they are all very much alike,” said Chapter989 President J.R. Stafford, adding the tribute is fitting for those who wore the uniform and served their country. “The sweetness of enduring peace is always tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice.”
Stafford said the special seat symbolizes the frailty of prisoners facing their oppressors and the hardships each POW encounters without loved ones and families.
Stafford said at a previous ceremony it’s an honor to recognize veterans and to remember those who were either captured by the enemy or were declared missing in action.
The first veteran honored six years ago was the late U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. William “Bill” Elander of Sparks. The ceremony gave the veteran an opportunity to reflect on his career as a military pilot and also as a POW during the last year of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.