Beside the Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) monument on the Washington state Capitol Campus in Olympia on Friday, Sept. 18, a dining table was set with an empty chair.
That chair represents the one that will remain forever empty within the homes of families whose loved ones perished in the line of duty or remain missing in action.
The table, set with a white tablecloth, a single candle, an inverted glass, a single red rose, and a plate holding a slice of lemon and a pinch of salt, further symbolizes soldiers’ sacrifice and the pain they and their families endure.
The Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs (WDVA) erected the temporary monument to commemorate POW/MIA Recognition Day, an annual day of observance honoring the bravery and perseverance of former prisoners of war, those still missing, and their families.
“This event is a powerful reminder that our POW/MIA Veterans and their families are never alone. When our community comes together in Olympia, we create a space of remembrance, healing, and unity,” said WDVA Director David Puente Jr. in a news release ahead of the event.
Gov. Bob Ferguson recognized the day of observance this year with a proclamation signed Sept. 4.
The proclamation recognizes that more than 217,000 Americans have been either missing, unaccounted for or a prisoner of war while serving the United States in wars and conflicts in other countries during the last 100 years, with many “enduring brutal and inhumane treatment by their captors in violation of international law.”
Of those, nearly 1,566 Americans are still missing from the Vietnam War, 7,300 are unaccounted for from the Korean War, 130 from the Cold War and other conflicts, and over 71,700 from World War II.
There are currently 1,480 service members unaccounted for from the state of Washington, according to State Veterans of Foreign Wars POW/MIA Chairman Rich Angeli.
The National Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) is continuing its work to find those missing service members and identify those who were buried as unknown soldiers to bring those numbers down.
That work, however, requires DNA samples from surviving family members to match with unidentified remains.
As of 2018, the DPAA had DNA from 85% of the families of missing Vietnam War servicemembers on file; 92% of the families of missing Korean War servicemembers; and 85% of the families of missing Cold War servicemembers; but only 6% of the families of missing from World War II servicemembers.
Angeli asks anyone who has a family member reported MIA in World War II to contact the DPAA or a casualty assistance officer through any Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter to submit a DNA kit.
Jennifer McDaniel of the Washington state Department of Veterans Affairs expressed gratitude Friday for the DPAA’s ongoing work.
“I, for one, am very grateful that they exist, and am appreciative of the fact that there is a group of people whose entire mission is to look for those who are lost,” she said.
McDaniel has submitted her own DNA sample in hopes of helping find her great uncle, who has been missing since April of 1943.
“So now we wait. But we wait now with more knowledge and more support,” she said.
Servicemembers are taught never to leave a man behind, McDaniel said, which means never giving up on those who have yet to return home.
“Eighty-thousand-plus still not home. They are the reason that we're here today. They are the reason that we continue to search and we wait and we pray and we continue to lean into the mission and never leave a fallen comrade,” McDaniel said. “I will be here next year, and I hope to see all of you.”
A recording of Friday’s ceremony is available to view at https://tinyurl.com/ymtv48ay
