NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY

VETERANS OF FOREIGN WARS: POW/MIA
http://www.vfw.org/resources/pdf/VFWmagazineJPACseries.pdf

DEFENSE PRISONER OF WAR/MISSING PERSONNEL OFFICE
http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo/

Today we observe National POW/MIA Recognition Day so that we may honor the courageous members of our nation's Armed Forces who were captured as prisoners of war and those who are still missing in action. It's a time to remember and reflect on the cost of freedom. We must never forget the untold sacrifices made by valiant soldiers who went to war and suffered cruel imprisonment by the enemies or still remain missing with their fates unknown.

Over 40 years ago, members of Catholic War Veteran Post 870 in Woodside, Queens spearheaded a nationwide petition drive calling for the release of the 82 man crew of the USS Pueblo taken prisoner by the North Koreans. Their demand for the crew's freedom never ceased throughout the arduous eleven months they were held in captive in prison of war camps. This drive was led by my dad, Joseph S. Petrula, a WW II Army veteran and then Commander of CWV Post 870. As a young girl I learned through my dad's example and that of his comrades that Americans must always support and give recognition to the men and women who served our country so well and this lesson needs to be passed on from one generation to the next. American citizens must make a solemn pledge to never forget the sacrifices of all the brave men and women who defended our country and are defending it still today so that we may enjoy the freedoms of our great nation.

Let us take the time today to honor the valor of America’s POWs and MIAs and give continuing support to their families and loves ones.

MISSING MAN TABLE & HONORS CEREMONY
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 ones [or missing comrades in arms, for veterans].

Set for six, the empty places represent Americans still [our men] missing from each of the five services -- Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard - and civilians. This Honors Ceremony symbolizes that they are with us, here in spirit.

Some [here] in this room were very young when they were sent into combat; however, all Americans should never forget the brave men and women who answered our nation's call [to serve] and served the cause of freedom in a special way.

I would like to ask you to stand, and remain standing for a moment of silent prayer, as the Honor Guard places the five service covers and a civilian cap on each empty plate.


Honor Guard:

(In silence or with dignified, quiet music as background, the Honor Guard moves into position around the table and simultaneously places the covers of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, and a civilian hat, on the dinner plate at each table setting. 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 missing men.

The tablecloth 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 the[ir] loved ones and friends of these Americans who keep the faith, awaiting answers.

The vase is tied with a red 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 [morning's/day's] toast.

The chairs are empty -- they are missing.

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


Courtesy of:
NATIONAL LEAGUE OF FAMILIES
OF AMERICAN PRISONERS AND MISSING IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

http://www.pow-miafamilies.org/

_____________________________________________________

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release September 17, 2009

NATIONAL POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY, 2009
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Our Nation maintains a solemn commitment to leave no service member behind. Our men and women in uniform uphold this pledge every day, and our country further upholds it as we honor every man and woman who serves, particularly those taken as prisoners of war or missing in action. We will never cease in our mission to bring America's missing service members home; we will never forget the sacrifices they made to keep this Nation free; and we will forever honor their memory. On National POW/MIA Recognition Day, we pay tribute to the American men and women who have not returned from the battlefield, and we express profound gratitude to those who returned only after facing unimaginable hardship on our behalf. Today, we also remember the families of our prisoners of war and those missing in action and honor the sacrifices they have made.

Every day, Americans are working around the world to identify and recover the remains of our fallen heroes. It is a promise made, and a promise that will be kept. Although their location may be unknown, we will not waver in our commitment to see they are reunited with the land they so valiantly defended.

For those veterans who returned home after being declared Missing in Action or having been imprisoned by the enemy, we honor their service, their sacrifice, and their courage. In distant lands, and under wretched and torturous conditions, these men and women endured. Faced with such tremendous adversity, they embody the power of the human spirit -- sustaining themselves with hope and faith.

On September 18, 2009, the stark black and white banner symbolizing America's Missing in Action and Prisoners of War will be flown over the White House, the Capitol, the Departments of State, Defense, and Veterans Affairs, the Selective Service System Headquarters, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, United States post offices, national cemeteries, and other locations across our country. It is a powerful reminder that our Nation will never cease in our commitment to honor those who have paid so high a price in its service.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 18, 2009, as National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and I urge all Americans to observe this day of honor and remembrance with appropriate ceremonies and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA