There are more than 80,000 Americans who served in the military since the start of World War II who have not returned home, a statistic shared by Chuck Lucas, commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post in Coronado.
Each year, veteran’s organizations across America hold a special table ceremony to keep them memory of those warriors alive. The National League of POW-MIA Families spearheads the event.
The Coronado post of the VFW has held a table ceremony every September since 1995, Lucas said. Some 40 people attended this year’s ceremony, held on Friday, September 20.
The event featured a small round table at front of the post’s dining hall. Items on it symbolize the pain and loss endured by POWs/MIAs and their loved ones.
“They are referred to as POW’s and MIAs. We call them comrades,” Lucas said, using words scripted for the ceremony. “They are unable to be with their loved ones and families tonight, so we join together to pay our humble tribute to them, and bear witness to their continued absence.”
After identifying each item and explaining what it symbolized — a white table cloth for the purity of the service man’s intentions, a slice of lemon on bread plate for the bitter fate of his capture, a pinch of salt on the plate for the families fallen tears. There was also a lit candle to illuminate a way home, a bible for strength, a vase with a red ribbon tied around it for determination to recover the missing, an inverted wine glass that can’t be raised in a toast, and an empty chair, a final reminder that the loved ones are missing.
Jeffrey Donahue was the guest speaker at the Recognition Day ceremonies.
His brother Major Morgan J. Donahue, USAF has been missing in action since 1968.
Donahue has dedicated his life to learning about what happened to his brother and other missing comrades. He urged people attending the ceremonies to write congress about their concerns.
