Churches asked to ring bells as Shelton Memorial is re-dedicated | News

The City of Owensboro invites area churches to participate in the rededication of the Shelton Memorial by ringing their church bells at precisely 11:04 a.m. on Thursday, August 23, for two minutes. The bell ringing is to honor Charles E. Shelton and all of our country’s POW’s.  Col. Shelton was shot down over Laos during the Vietnam War.  He ejected safely but was apparently captured and is believed to have never made it out of southeast Asia.  He was declared killed in action in the 1990s.

The last time Col. Shelton was seen in Owensboro before flying overseas for what would become his final mission, was at 11:04am when he did a fly-over to say ‘Goodbye’ to friends and family.  The ringing of the church bells will take place at that same time on the day the City of Owensboro rededicates the memorial honoring Col. Shelton and all POW’s. 

Smothers Park, which is scheduled to reopen on Friday, August 24 of this year, has included a war memorial since September 18, 1999.  This memorial is dedicated to Col. Charles E. Shelton US Air Force who was shot down while on a mission over Laos in 1964. 

Col. Shelton was finally declared killed in action in 1994, and is the last official POW of the Vietnam War.  The memorial has been in storage during the rebuilding of the park and has recently been reinstalled into Smothers Park which is now nearing completion.  For more information about the riverfront grand opening, please visit www.owensboro.org.