National POW/MIA Recognition Day is held each year on the third Friday in September. On September 20, ceremonies will be held across the country to commemorate the sacrifices of the missing servicemen and women and their families.
Set for four, the missing personnel from the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force are represented at the table. The roundtable shows everlasting concern.
The table cloth is white symbolizing the purity of the servicemen’s motives wen answering the call to duty. A single red rose is displayed in a vase as a reminder of the life of each of the missing and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith while seeking answers. The vase is tied with a red ribbon symbolizing the continued determination to account for them. A slice of lemon is a reminder of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land. The salt symbolizes the tears shed by those missing and their families who long for answers to end years of uncertainty. The lighted candle reflects hope for their return to their families and our nation. The inverted glass symbolizes the servicemen’s inability to share an evening toast. The chairs are empty; they are missing.
The Montezuma County Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary No. 5231 will be setting up Missing Man Tables at the P&D Grocery in Mancos, the Ute Mountain Casino in Towaoc, the Dolores State Bank in Dolores, the Citizens State Bank in Cortez, the Cortez High School, and the Southwest Open School on Friday, Sept. 20, 2013.
They also will be flying the POW/MIA flags on the streets of Mancos on that day.
They ask that everyone take a few minutes to reflect on our soldiers who are prisoners of war or missing in action and say a prayer for them and their families.
