MIA/POW Ceremony

I am honored to be in attendance and have the ability the share this.



From the moderator:
As you entered the dining area, you may have noticed a table at the front, raised to call your attention to its purpose -- it is reserved to honor our missing loved comrades.

Set for one the empty place represents our men and women missing from each of the four services - Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force. This Honors Ceremony symbolizes that they are with us, here in spirit.

All Americans should never forget our brave men and women who volunteered to answer our nation's call and served the cause of freedom in a special way.

As the Honor Guard places one of the four service covers on the table. I would like to ask you to consider their sacrifices, followed by a moment of silent prayer.

Honor Guard:
(In silence or with dignified, reverent music as background, the Honor Guard moves into position around the table and simultaneously places one of the service covers, of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force on the table. The Honor Guard then departs.)

Moderator:
Please be seated.....I would like to explain the meaning of the items on this special table.

The table is round - to show our everlasting concern for our men still missing.

The cloth is white - symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to duty.

The single red rose, displayed in a vase, reminds us of the life of each of the missing, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, awaiting answers.

The vase is tied with a ribbon, symbol of our continued determination to account for our missing.

A slice of lemon on the bread plate is to remind us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.

A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families who seek answers.

The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God.

The glass is inverted - to symbolize their inability to share this evening's toast.

The chair is empty - they are missing.

Let us now raise our water glasses in a toast to honor America's POW/MIA's and to the success of our efforts to account for them.