Published: July 02, 2009 09:51 am      

July 4 celebration set in Wimberley

Wimberley — A special, patriotic Independence Day celebration at Wimberley's Veterans Memorial Plaza will include a flag ceremony, a special recognition of World War II veterans and a flyover by vintage aircraft. 

The ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 4, at the Veterans Memorial Plaza at EmilyAnn Theatre. 

There is no charge for admission and everyone is invited. 

Wimberley's 2009 Patriot of the Year will be honored at the observance, and parchment copies of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and Constitution and the Bill of Rights will be on display. 

The vintage aircraft for the flyover are from the Commemorative Air Force's San Marcos Squadron.

Members of the Veterans Memorial Plaza flag detail will raise the U.S. and Texas flags along with flags representing the five armed forces and those missing in action or prisoners of war. 

Guest speaker for the event is Wimberley resident Army Lt. Col. Michael Dishman.

Commissioned as a Field Artillery officer following graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1986, Dishman's career has included command and staff positions in artillery units in Korea and Greece and high level diplomatic and military staff assignments in the Middle East for a total of nine tours overseas. 

He attended the Turkish Command and General Staff College in Istanbul, completed graduate studies in Middle Eastern affairs at the University of Texas-Austin and is fluent in Turkish and Greek. 

Dishman's wife Sarah and daughter Alexandra live in Wimberley.