Lest We Forget...
As you entered this evening, you may have noticed a small table
in the place of honor. It is set for one. Please let me explain.
This table is our way of symbolizing the fact that members of
our profession of arms are missing from our midst. They are
commonly called P.O.W or M.I.A. We call them "BROTHERS". They
are unable to be with us this evening and so we remember them
because of their incarceration.
This table set for one is small, symbolizing the frailty of one
prisoner alone against his aggressors. REMEMBER!!
The tablecloth is white, symbolizing the purity of their
intentions to respond to their country's call to arms.
REMEMBER!!
REMEMBER, the single rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the
families and loved ones of our comrades-in-arms who keep the
faith awaiting his return.
REMEMBER, the red ribbon tied so prominently to the vase is
reminiscent of the red ribbon worn on the lapel and breast of
those who bear witness to their unyielding determination to
demand a proper accounting of our missing.
REMEMBER, a slice of lemon is on the bread plate to remind us of
their bitter fate.
There is salt upon the bread plate, symbolic of the families
tears as they wait. REMEMBER!!
The glass is inverted--they cannot toast with us this night.
REMEMBER!!
REMEMBER--all of you who served with them and called them
comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and relied upon
them, for surely, they have not forsaken you.
POW/MIA Facts
Of the 125,214 Americans surviving captivity, about 29,350 were
estimated to be alive as of the end of 2005. Records show that
142,246 Americans were captured and interned during World War I,
World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the
Somalia and Kosovo conflicts, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
More than 78,000 Americans are unaccounted for from WWII, more
than 8,100 American servicemen from the Korean War, and at the
end of the Vietnam War, there reportedly were 2,583 unaccounted
for American prisoners, missing or killed in action/body not
recovered.
As of September 1, 2006, 1,798 Americans are still so listed by
the Defense Department, over 90% of them in Vietnam or in areas
of Laos and Cambodia where Vietnamese forces operated during the
war. 126 Americans are still listed as missing in action and
unaccounted-for from the Cold War.
