(WARRENSBURG, Mo.) – Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets IV, commander of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, is scheduled to present the keynote address at the annual pre-Memorial Day Ceremony at the University of Central Missouri.

The event is set for noon Wednesday, May 24, on the lawn near the Alumni Memorial Chapel and is free and open to the public. In case of rain, the festivities will be moved inside the chapel, according to a news release.

Joining Tibbets as participants in the event will be a color guard from Whiteman Air Force Base; the singing of the National Anthem by UCM alumna Candace Fowler; presentation of the POW/MIA Missing Man Table led by 1st Sgt. Jamil Goodwin, 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Whiteman; welcome by Deborah Curtis, UCM provost-chief  learning officer, who also will lay a wreath with Tibbets; a 21-gun salute performed by members of the Warrensburg American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts; and the playing of taps by David Aaberg, professor of music at UCM.

Receiving his commission through the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1989, Tibbets has risen through the military ranks to become responsible for the combat readiness of the U.S. Air Force’s Spirit wing, including development and employment of the B-2’s combat capability as part of the Air Force’s Global Strike Task Force. His command provides logistics support for the Air Force Reserve 442nd Fighter Wing, Missouri Air National Guard 131st Bomb Wing, Air Combat Command 20th Reconnaissance Squadron and the Missouri Army National Guard 1st Battalion, 135th Aviation Unit.

Also during his career, Tibbets served on a variety of operational assignments as a B-1 and a B-2 pilot, including flying in combat missions in support of operations in Southwest Asia, the Balkans and Afghanistan. He has logged more than 3,800 flying hours as a command pilot.

For more information about the ceremony, contact Carrie-Ann Garlett, assistant director of Military and Veteran Services at UCM, by calling 660-543-8452 or emailing garlett@ucmo.edu.