OCEAN CITY — The Philadelphia Eagles’ home, Lincoln Financial Field, with room for more than 67,000 spectators, would not have enough space to accommodate all of the American service members missing in action from World War II to the present.
In honor of their memory, and in front of a standing-room-only audience Friday morning, a POW-MIA Chair of Honor was dedicated at the Ocean City Community Center.
Larry Bonner of American Legion Morvay-Miley-Cruice Post 524 and Mike Morrissey, commander of VFW Ferguson-Foglio Post 6650, lifted a black cloth that had covered the chair like a veil, then saluted as Taps was played.
The chair and plaque are being placed in an alcove at the bottom of the stairs by the front doors of the center. That way, according to Aide to the Mayor Michael Allegretto, everyone who enters can stop and pay their respects.
“We’re here today to remember those who became prisoners of war or missing in action. These are men and women who answered the call of duty but never came home,” Mayor Jay Gillian said. He recognized all of the veterans who served and had those present stand to a round of applause.
Above the chair will be a plaque that reads, “You are not forgotten. Since World War II, more than 80,000 American soldiers remain unaccounted for. This unoccupied seat is dedicated to the memory of those brave men and women and to the sacrifices each made in serving our country.”
Gillian said the Ocean City Community Center is the perfect location for the chair of honor because these service members will always be part of the community.
The mayor introduced Patrick Hughes of Rolling Thunder, Inc., who helped make the chair of honor possible.
Hughes, a Marine and combat veteran of the Vietnam War who lost friends overseas, said the chair is a lasting memory to those service members, their families and loved ones. Through Rolling Thunder he has helped place more than 100 of these chairs of honor.
He put the POW-MIA numbers in perspective.
There are more than 81,000 service members who remain unaccounted from World War II on, he said. Hughes asked the audience to picture the stadiums for the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team or Eagles football team. “Just imagine those stadiums totally full of people and that is not even enough for the service members who are still missing. And if you take into account those service members’ families, their mothers, their fathers, it’s just too much,” he said. “And this symbol here, when people come in and see it, is an educational piece, especially for our younger children.”
He shared some numbers from the state of New Jersey, saying there are still 2,124 service members unaccounted for from World War II; 165 from the Korean War; 40 from Vietnam; and three from the Cold War.
He added from the city of Ocean City, on the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., are 1st Lt. John C. Martin, SP5 Bruce Michael Miley, Petty Officer Third Class John Richard Morvay, Staff Sgt. Charles Wesley Sterling and SP4 Robert A. Woodrow.
Hughes hoped that some day they would have the remains or some kind of closure for the families. Veterans, he said, “are the purchasers of peace. Every veteran has earned the absolute right to come home.”
Clark Manley of VFW Post 6650 delivered the invocation, Boy Scout Troop 32 presented colors, Fred Distel of American Legion Post 524 led the Pledge of Allegiance and Larry Kelly from the legion post provided the benediction.
Ocean City to host
active-duty service
members for R&R
Bonner told the audience he was happy to see his post and the VFW working together, calling it a brotherhood. He said that around 11:30 a.m. July 14, two active-duty service members and their families will be escorted across the Route 52 causeway by about 50 to 60 motorcycles and police and fire vehicles. They will then travel south on West Avenue to the post at 46th Street, where there will be a ceremony, giving the service members keys to donated condos to enjoy a week of R&R with their families.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff