The Freedom Tree was donated to the 95th Corps of Cadets, St. John’s Military School, on October 30, 1982 by the City of Salina in honor of Major Dennis Pugh, a resident of Salina, Kansas and a member of the United States Air Force. Major Pugh was listed as missing in action on March 19, 1970 in Vietnam, and presumed dead on January 23, 1982.