Today is POW/MIA Recognition Day

The third Friday of September is the day on which our nation remembers our Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, as well as their families who still await the return of their loved ones. According to the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, there are still 83,414 from past conflicts who are unaccounted for. 

What can you do as a citizen? If you're a veteran, join the American Legion. The American Legion works tirelessly with Congress and the Department of Defense to ensure policies are in place to promote the discovery and return of our missing personnel. But the Legion is only as strong as its membership base. As a veteran, you can help these efforts simply by joining the ranks of your fellow veterans in the Legion. Other concerned citizens can support the POW/MIA cause by supporting the American Legion and other veterans organizations in urging the President and Congress to fully fund efforts to bring about a full accounting of our missing service members.

Above all, REMEMBER!

At all American Legion meetings, we set out an empty chair draped with the POW/MIA flag. This is a constant reminder that not all of our comrades are able to be with us. In many military dining facilities and other veterans facilities, you will notice an empty table, set for one. Pictured below is the Empty Chair Table that we have immediately inside the entrance to Sgt. Joseph D. Caskey Post 80. This reminds all who enter our social quarters that there are comrades missing from our ranks, and we will not forget them.

I'd like to share with you a description of the items that appear on this table, taken from our POW/MIA ceremony:

Those who have served and those currently serving the uniformed services of the United States are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and internment.

Let us pause to recognize our POW's and MIA's.

We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor.

It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POW's and MIA's.
We call them comrades.

They are unable to be with their loved ones and families, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them, and bear witness to their continued absence.

This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.

The single red rose in the vase, signifies the blood they many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep the faith, while awaiting their return.

The ribbon on the vase represents the  ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand with unyielding determination a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted - they cannot toast with us.

The chair is empty - they are not here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.

Let us pray to the Supreme Commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.

REMEMBER

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