After a 24-hour vigil on the Amphitheater stage, the University ROTC held a joint ceremony yesterday honoring all prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action.
Beginning at 4 p.m. Monday, 96 cadets rotated shifts marching across the Amphitheater stage until the ceremony began yesterday afternoon.
"What we've done since the year 2000 here at the University is pay tribute to those that are still potentially prisoners or missing in action," said John Vrba, an Air Force colonel and University ROTC professor.
Since 1985, the third Friday of September has served as National POW/MIA Recognition Day. In 2000, the University ROTC began the vigil tradition to take place on the following Monday and Tuesday, thus allowing all ROTC students to participate in accordance with their schedules.
Yesterday's ceremony began with the national anthem and a fly-over of the 149th fighter squad of the Virginia Air National Guard--Richmond. The missing man formation lead jet was piloted by Lt. Col. Bryan "Shadow" Turner, a 1983 College graduate.
Turner piloted over 60 missions in Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom, Vrba said.
Following a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps, retired Army Maj. Raymond J. Jansco, a Vietnam veteran, spoke and introduced the chaplain Lt. Col. Ret. Warren Landis, a former POW. Landis spent time in a German POW camp during World War II. He was one of 1,862 escapees out of approximately 94,000 American POWs in U.S. history, Jansco said.
Second-year College student and Air Force ROTC cadet Andrew Atkinson said he coordinated the event with the help of many others.
"There's no way it could be done by one," he said.
University students in Army, Navy and Air Force ROTC commit to classes for instruction in their respective branch as well as four years of active duty service after graduation, Atkinson said.
He said it was important to remember the people who have committed themselves to serving in the U.S. military.
"Just the 24-hour vigil, especially when cadets are marching back and forth across the stage, gives [the cadets] a chance to think about the personnel that have gone before us," Atkinson said.
The program was meant for the University population, Vrba said.
"When passing students see us, it also reminds them" to honor POWs and MIAs, Atkinson said.
Other schools across the nation hold ceremonies for National POW/MIA Recognition Day, Vrba said. The University ROTC ceremony "is still relatively unique because of the 24-hour vigil," he said.
Jansko concluded his speech by saying University ROTC students should fill their positions with courage, confidence and compassion for all kinds of people.
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