NEWS

 

Unfortunately, Commander (Retired) Porter Halyburton recently suffered an injury and will be unable to travel to Davidson for the Sold Out discussion of his most recent book that was scheduled for Friday afternoon at Town Hall. The event was co-sponsored by Main Street Books and DavidsonLearns.

For eagle-eyed viewers of NBC Nightly News, you might have seen Halyburton in a segment that aired on Memorial Day. The coverage was about a reunion of former Vietnam War Prisoners of War that took place at the Nixon Library.

The Nixon Foundation’s press release about the event stated the following:

On May 24, 1973 President and Mrs. Nixon welcomed the POWs to Washington, D.C. The President spoke to the POWs and personally greeted each one while the spouses, mothers and guests of the POWs met with First Lady Pat Nixon, Tricia Nixon Cox and Julie Nixon Eisenhower. That evening, more than 1,600 people —including the best-known celebrities of the day, including John Wayne, Bob Hope, Joey Heatherton and Sammy Davis, Jr.— gathered on a rainy Washington evening in a colorful tent on the White House South Lawn to celebrate the service of the POWs and their return home.

On May 24, 2023, exactly 50 years later, nearly 200 of those POWs will dine in the Nixon Library’s White House East Room replica and recreate that dinner, down to the menu items and centerpieces.

A video of the 50th anniversary ceremony can be viewed on YouTube.

We will update our readers as any information becomes available about rescheduling the event.