.da_story_info span
{
color: #333333;
}
Vandenberg honors POW, MIA servicemembers
VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Members of Team-V recently participated in National Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Recognition Day, here, Sept. 18 through 19.
Events included a 24-hour vigil, a prisoner of war bracelet roll call, a 24-hour remembrance run and culminated with a ceremony in front of Vandenberg's POW/MIA memorial.
For the run, groups started at the base track and carried a POW/MIA flag around the base for 30 minutes before handing the flag off to the next group. During the vigil, members of VAFB, along with local veterans, participated in the traditional reading of more than 83,000 names of servicemembers who are still unaccounted for.
POW/MIA Recognition Day concluded with a ceremony to commemorate those still missing. Many were in attendance to honor the sacrifices of their comrades, including guest speaker Chief Master Sgt. Patrick McMahon, 14th Air Force Command Chief.
"When I think of resilience, I think of POWs," said McMahon. "I thank all of those who have served, all of those who are serving, and all of those who will serve in the future."
At the front of the POW/MIA memorial are two large bronze plaques. The one on the left side contains a description of the memorial. The one on the right reads:
The members of Vandenberg AFB wish to forever remember our military servicemen and women in the Tri-County Area, who are still missing in action. These young men and women left home and community to answer the call of our nation in order to preserve peace and freedom in the world.
"It's critical that we keep the memory of those still missing alive and remind them that they're not forgotten," said Tech. Sgt. Daniel Cable, 614th Air and Space Operations Center, unified space vault crew chief. "We're going to continue doing this, year after year, because there are families still searching for an answer."