By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
The Yukon Veterans Museum will celebrate a decade in Yukon during a special event this week.
The museum’s 2023 anniversary gala will be 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 19 inside the Dale Robertson Center, 1200 Lakeshore.
This marks the 10th year for the gala, which celebrates Yukon’s veterans and raises funds for the military museum on Route 66.
The festivities will feature guest speaker Lt. Col. Jonathan P. McDonald.
Lt. Col. McDonald is the chief of the Targeting, Collections, Processing, Exploitation, and Dissemination Integration Branch for the Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Cyber Effects Operations at U.S. Air Force headquarters at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.
The gala’s speaker has been deployed to Haiti, Afghanistan and Quatar where he supported Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Unified Response, Inherent Response, Freedom Sentinel, New Dawn, and Resolute Support. He has earned many awards and commendations.
Also at Thursday night’s gala, the Fort Reno chapter – Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) will present quilts to deserving Yukon military veterans.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Warriors Honor Flight board member Cord Fowler will talk to veterans about that program.
VISIT THE MUSEUM
Tickets to the Yukon Veterans Museum’s 10th Anniversary Gala are $30 for adults and $15 for children 12 years and under.
Museum founder and curator Rick Cacini invites the public to attend Thursday’s celebratory event.
“We want to honor our Armed Forces – not only on this special occasion – but each day we open the museum doors and share the history of the sacrifices made for our freedoms,” said Cacini, a retired U.S. Army and Air Force lieutenant colonel.
The Yukon Veterans Museum, 1012 W Main, features historic displays and military artifacts from all U.S. service branches – Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Merchant Marines, National Guard, Navy, and Space Force.
Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Tours are available by appointment.
For more information, call (405) 517-1901 or (405) 265-2565 or email YVMF42@hotmail.com.
