by Kelly Rogge, KCKCC
Kansas City Kansas Community College is celebrating Veterans Day with The Missing Person Table.
The Missing Person Table, also known as the Fallen Comrade Table and the Missing Man Table, has been assembled in the Lower Jewell Student Center, across from the Intercultural Center. The Lower Jewell Student Center is the college’s semi-official place to honor the United States Armed Forces in memory of the fallen, missing or imprisoned military service members.
“Please come view this wonderful exhibit today and pay honor to our various service members and branches of the Armed Forces,” said Tracy Lee Reed, secretary in the Student Activities Office at KCKCC. “This exhibit serves as the focal point of our ceremonial remembrance, centered around the then U.S. concern of the Vietnam War POW/MIA issue.”
The items on the table each represent a part of the ceremony:
• A round table shows the everlasting concern for missing men.
• The white tablecloth symbolizes the purity of the soldiers’ motives when answering the call of duty.
• The single red rose is a reminder of the life of each of the missing as well as their loved ones and friends.
• The vase, tied with a red ribbon, symbolizes the continued determination to account for the missing.
• The slice of lemon is a reminder of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.
• A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears endured by those missing and their families.
• The Bible represents the strength gained through faith to sustain those lost from our country, founded as one nation under God.
• The inverted glass symbolizes their inability to share this evening’s toast.
• The table is set for six, the empty chairs representing the Americans still missing from each of the five services – Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Coast Guard, as well as the civilians.
For more information about The Missing Person Table, contact the Student Activities Office at 913-288-7553.