A humble tribute for the nation's missing

A small table with a single, unoccupied chair and a lone place setting occupied a place of honor Friday night as American Legion Post 364 in Woodbridge held its annual POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony.
“We’re here today for the purpose of remembering and recognizing those service men and women who are to this day being held as prisoners of war or are listed as missing in action,” said Post Commander Dan Eubank.
Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Wiley conducted the Missing Man ceremony and explained the significance of the items on the table — including its white tablecloth; a vase wrapped with a red ribbon that held a single red rose; the salt and lemon on the plate; and an inverted glass.
“It is set for one, symbolizing that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks,” said Wiley. “This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner alone against an army of his oppressors.“
The white tablecloth is symbolic of the purity of the intentions of POW/MIAs in answering the nation’s call to arms, he continued. The single rose in the vase serves as a reminder of the family and friends who keep faith while waiting their missing loved ones return. The red ribbon around the vase is symbolic of the determination to account for the missing. The slice of lemon on the plate serves as a reminder of the bitter fate of those who are missing, and the inverted glass is symbolic of the toast they cannot make.
“The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope that lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to open arms of a grateful nation,” he said. “Let us remember them.“
Prince William County upervisor Mike May read a proclamation that was unanimously passed by his board earlier in the week naming Friday as POW/MIA Recognition Day in the county.
“We honor those men and women who were held as prisoners of war and are still missing in action while serving their country so that we may be free,” May read.
Supervisors also unanimously passed a resolution honoring the post for its efforts on behalf of service members’ families.
“We’re proud of the post,” said Supervisor John Jenkins, who joined May. Jenkins is also a member of Post 364.
In her keynote remarks, Ann Mills Griffith, who has served as executive director of the National League of POW/MIA families for 30 years, said that there would probably not be more than 600 people working full-time on the issue of POW/MIAs were it not for the support of groups like the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.
“The American Legion was literally for 14 years our office home in Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Griffith’s brother was shot down over Vietnam more than four decades ago and remains missing.
The ceremony also included the reading of poems in honor of the missing from World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Cold War and Gulf War. The names of those who remain unaccounted for from Virginia were also read and balloons were released in their honor.
Similar ceremonies honoring POW/MIAs took place around the nation.