Fountain County Court HousePOW*MIA Chair of Honor
The
POW*MIA Chair of Honor for the Fountain County Court House located in
Covington Indiana was dedicated on July 1, 2018 during their 4th of
July event. The dedication was performed at the local
community park with several residents in attendance. The Chapter
performed the Missing Man Table and Roll Call ceremonies, followed by
the dedication of the POW*MIA Chair of Honor. Listed below are pictures of the event and dedication.
Linda
Cope and Jim Smith unveil the Fountain County Court House POW*MIA Chair
of Honor at the June 2018 Chapter meeting in honor of their brother SFC
Ronald Eugene Smith who went missing from the Vietnam War on November
28, 1970.
The picture to the right, from left to right is
Terry “Flash” Sanderson, Vern Rensing, Jim Smith and Mike Clark
after installing the POW*MIA Chair of Honor display in the Fountain County Court House prior to the
dedication ceremony.
Missing Man Table Ceremony
The
Missing Man Table ceremony is our way of recognizing those who remain missing. The
items on the table represents various aspects of the courageous men that
answered our nation’s highest calling and have yet to return home from the
battlefield, so we remember them. This special table is in honor of
those American heroes that went off to War but yet to return home.
They
may be still lying on the battle field, or they may be in the hands of our
enemies, we don’t know, they are Unaccounted-For. Their
remains have not been recovered, their whereabouts are unknown, and their fate
is yet to be determined. These
American heroes are Prisoner of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA). We
call them “BROTHERS They
are not able to be with their loved ones, so we join together to pay humble
tribute to them and to bear witness to their continued absence. The
table is a physical symbol of the 82,300 American Service Members that are
still listed as Unaccounted-For Nationwide since WWII. Indiana
alone has 1,520 MIAs from WWII, 175 from the Korean War, and 50 from the
Vietnam War. Covers
were placed on the table to represent each branch of service. There was
also a cover place on the table in honor of our missing DoD
Civilians. Linda Cope explained the meaning of the Missing Man Table and
the items on it. Roll Call Ceremony
Roll Call is performed by reading the names, and reporting
the whereabouts of the (50) Indiana War-Fighters that are still listed as
Unaccounted-For from the Vietnam War. We perform this special ceremony each year before we
depart to Washington DC to participate in the annual Ride for Freedom
Demonstration to remind our leaders that we still demand FULL accountability of
our POWs and MIAs. We will be the voice of the 82,000 War-Fighters that have fought
for our freedom, and have yet to return home. The ceremony is performed by the narrator reading the
name of the MIA. The Honor Guard team member next in line will step forward and
announce the status of the MIA. If the MIA is still missing, the Honor Guard
Team member will state “Still Missing Sir” and fall back in line. The Roll Call
will continue until all 50 Indiana MIAs from the Vietnam War is reported on. Jim Smith and Cary Crowder unveil the POW*MIA Chair of Honor Group Picture at the Fountain County Court House
Special Recognition I would like to thank Roy Hall
and our friends of the Central Indiana Woodworkers, INC for
refurbishing this special chair and providing the stand to hold the
plaque. David Wooldridge for making the plaque that is attached to the chair. Dick Harrington
for building the frame that the platform sits on. The members of the
Fountain County Circuit Court House and the citizens of Covington for
allowing this special chair to be placed in the Fountain County Court
House for all to see, and the Chapter members that helped to put the
display all together. OUR NATION POWs and MIAs MUST NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
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