UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State will hold its annual Prisoners of War/Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Vigil at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, to honor military service members who never returned home.
This event, held on POW/MIA Recognition Day, is organized by the Penn State Air Force ROTC and has been a tradition spanning more than 40 years. This year, it will be hosted on the Old Main Lawn at the University Park campus and is open to the public. Military veterans and their families are especially encouraged to attend.
The vigil will feature a "missing man" table ceremony, a symbolic tribute to those service members who did not return or are not accounted for. Beginning at 4 p.m., Honor Guards and ROTC cadets will stand guard over Old Main for 24 hours, concluding the event on Sept. 19.
"The POW/MIA vigil is our solum promise to all service members who have never returned home that you are not forgotten. Today we honor them and their families' sacrifice for our great nation by ensuring we remain morally and operationally committed to the pledge that no service member will be left behind. We will never forget nor rest in the support to this sacred mission. " said Col. Thomas Joyner, Commander, Air Force ROTC at Penn State.
Additional elements of the ceremony will include a bagpipe performance of “Taps” and the national anthem sung by the Wild Blue Yonders. Cadets from the Army and Navy will serve as guest speakers, and remarks will be given by Col. Lewis Watt, a Marine from the local American Legion Post 245. Watt served two tours in Vietnam and has 29 air medals as well the Distinguished Flying Cross, a U.S. military award given to service members for their acts of heroism and extraordinary aerial achievement, to his credit.
A 21-gun salute will be performed shortly after the remembrance ceremony at 4:50 p.m. Members of the Penn State community are reminded to not be alarmed at the sound of the salute being performed.
“POW/MIA Recognition Day is about the unwavering commitment to identifying all American military service members who have been lost or unaccounted for overseas,” said Eugene McFeely, Penn State’s senior director for Veterans’ Affairs and Services and chair of the University's Military Appreciation Committee. “These prisoners of war and those missing in action will be forever honored for their sacrifice and selfless duty to our great nation.”
With the first POW/MIA vigil organized by Penn State veterans who served during the Vietnam War, the University remains dedicated to supporting the men and women of the military by offering resources to help them succeed academically and professionally.
This year’s Military Appreciation Week will commemorate the 35th anniversary of the end of the Gulf War, also known as Operation Desert Storm, and involve a series of campus and community events. To learn more, visit militaryappreciation.psu.edu.