At the February meeting of N.C. Chapter 2 of Rolling Thunder, based in Statesville, Lee Ann and Rick Johnson of Lenoir were honored for their support of deployed troops.
The Johnsons sent letters and gifts to servicemen and women who were far from home. They helped more than 200 young people, many in hospitals overseas after being wounded, know they had not been forgotten.
U.S. Air Force Technical Sgt. Ashley Broome Roney recently returned from a deployment to Afghanistan and brought back for the Johnsons a U.S. flag that had been carried on board a B1-B aircraft during a combat mission over Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Roney’s parents, Ralph and Glenda Broome of Charlotte, and members of S.C. Chapter 1 of Rolling Thunder presented the flag to the Johnsons on her behalf along with a certificate signed by all the members of the air crew attesting to the flight of that flag on a memorable date. It took place on Dec. 7, 2007, the 66th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
Rolling Thunder is a nationwide nonprofit civic service organization whose primary mission is to raise public awareness of the fact that there are many American service members who are still unaccounted for after becoming Prisoners of War or Missing In Action.
Rolling Thunder also works to help American veterans from all wars, with special attention given to the needs of disabled veterans.
Anyone interested in the POW/MIA issue can get more information about the national Rolling Thunder organization at www.rollingthunder1 .com or about the N.C. Chapter 2 of Rolling Thunder at http://webpages.charter.net/rtnc2/.