In Good Company
We went to a Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Lodge on Saturday. Vic has been a VFW member ever since we were in Korea and he qualified as a Veteran. We had been walking around the beach area and the kids wanted a snack, so we stopped in to take a load off our feet. When we walked in, there was an immediate change in Vic's behavior. It was as if he had just walked in on a group of friends he knew all of his life. I've seen a similar reaction between Vic and strangers who realize that they have both served in war. There is a brotherhood, as they say, and the need to be with others who have experienced something so foreign to most of us is important. We weren't there long when we earned our own terms of endearment. From across the room they called us "Mom and Dad", because the inclusion of little children at the post must be a rarity. I am sure that we will visit with the kids on regular occasions. It is an honor to be in the company of the brotherhood at the VFW.
As you enter the lodge there is a single table that stands alone. It is a display that remembers those that are Prisoners of War (POW) or Missing in Action (MIA). Our children asked us about it and I did an average job of explaining all of the items and their meaning. We have seen this POW/MIA table at all of our formals and have learned about it's meanings. I have found a great description of this table that I'd like to share. Thanks to Gary at www.gmasw.com for so perfectly representing this tradition.
The POW/MIA Table
You may notice this small table here in a place of honor. It is set for one.
This table is our way of symbolizing the act that members of our profession of
arms are missing from our midst. The are commonly call POW's or
MIA's…we call them brothers.
They are unable to be with us this evening and so we remember them.
This table set for one is small... it symbolizes the frailty of one prisoner
against his oppressors.
The table cloth is white... it symbolizes the purity of their intentions to
respond to their country's call to arms.
The single rose displayed in a vase reminds us of the families and loved ones
of our comrades in arms who keep faith awaiting their return.
The red ribbon tied so prominently on the vase is reminiscent of the red
ribbon worn on the lapel and breasts of thousands who bear witness to their
unyielding determination to demand a proper accounting for our missing.
A slice of lemon is on the bread plate... to remind us of their bitter fate.
There is salt upon the bread plate... symbolic of the family's tears as they
wait.
The glass is inverted... they cannot toast with us tonight.
The chair is empty... they are not here.
Remember... all of you who served with them and called them comrades, who
depended on their might and aid, and relied on them... for surely... they have
not forsaken you.
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