Many Members of VVA Chapter #1069 attended the EveryDay Heroes 2019 annual Fundraiser event, held in El Campo, Texas. The Fundraiser was held on Wednesday, Oct 9, 2019, at the El Campo, Civic Center.
VVA Chapter 1069 Vice-President, Leonard Sternadel and chapter member Ronnie Miller (above photo) presented the "Missing Man Table" rememberance ceremony to all those attending the event.
EveryDay Heroes is a local Veterans Support organization, based in El Campo, that provides various help for veterans and also provides a daily bus service for veterans that may be used to transport them (there & back) to local VA facilities in nearby Richmond/Rosenburg and the Houston DeBakey VA Hospital. Use the link below to read more about Everyday Heroes. CLICK HERE to learn more about Everyday Heroes
A "Missing Man Table", (above photo) also known as a "Fallen Comrade Table", is a ceremony and memorial that is set up in military dining facilities of the United States Armed Forces and during official dining functions, in honor of fallen, missing, or imprisoned military service members, or civilian, or includes all (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy, Coast Guard & POW/MIA). The table serves as the focal point of ceremonial remembrance, originally growing out of US concern of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue.
The above photo shows the Missing Man Table that was setup at the event. Note that there are 6 empty chairs at the table.
The table included 6 empty chairs that represents fallen members of the 5 military Services (Army, Air Force, Marine Corps, Navy & Coast Guard) and an additional chair for the POW/MIA (Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action).
The photos below show how the presentation included Leonard reading the ceremonial rememberance prayer at the podium, describing the various items on the table, along with their significance. Ronnie was positioned at the table pointing out or holding each item, as Leonard explained its importance. It was a very moving ceremony.
Use the links below to learn more about the Missing Man Table rememberance ceremony.
CLICK HERE to visit Wikipedia CLICK HERE to read the Ceremonial Prayer