Sept. 11 tribute at POW/MIA ceremony By: Toniann Antonelli , Staff Writer 09/12/2002
The Sept. 11 anniversary figured prominently in the annual POW/MIA vigil which began Friday in Roselle Park. Organizer Gene Davis, a Linden City councilman, brought in Junior ROTC cadets from Linden and Roselle to honor and remember those who were prisoners of war and those who are still classified as missing in action.
Local, county and state officials, along with firefighters, veterans, police officers, students and residents from several Union County municipalities took part in a ceremony and 24-hour vigil to remember and keep in mind the soldiers, sailors and pilots who remain missing in action, as well as the people who died in the terrorist attacks last year.
Out of respect for those who died when the Twin Towers collapsed, and for those who risked their lives trying to save them, crews from the New York Fire and Police departments attended the event along with members of the Port Authority Police Department, and other police and fire departments in Roselle Park, Linden and several Union County municipalities.
During the first hour of the ceremony, a vigil was held as lit candles were placed around the flagpole in front of the Roselle Park Veterans Memorial Library on Chestnut Street. The candles represented those who fought in wars throughout American history and were never heard from again; those who are classified as missing in action.
Those who are missing were also represented by a table containing several place settings each of which contained an overturned cup, a chair leaning in toward the table and a plate on which sat a piece of lemon and salt, symbolizing the tears that have been shed for those who never returned.
Davis said the Missing Man Table is set up during dinners and banquets for the Vietnam Veterans of America and other veterans organizations, as well as in the mess halls of most military bases. It not only honors those who died and are missing, but signifies that the veterans are still waiting for the lost and missing service members to return home, he added.
Other veterans groups go a step further by keeping one seat open during their regular meetings for those who died and those who are missing, according to Robert Jeans of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Kenilworth.
In addition to elected officials, the ceremony was attended by Junior ROTC groups from Linden High School, Union High School and Abraham Clark High School in Roselle. The uniform-clad students conducted the flag raising during the event with as much precision and respect as enlisted military personnel.
The vigil was accompanied by music by the Union County Pipes and Drums as well as two students from Roselle Park High School who played Taps in memory of those who died in wars and in the Sept. 11 attacks. Those who died were also remembered by an honor guard from the Union County Sheriff s Office who gave a 21-gun salute that could be heard throughout the community.
In addition, veterans groups including the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion and the Disabled Veterans of America, as well as other groups, were also represented.
During the ceremony, a number of officials addressed the audience and read resolutions which had been passed in honor of the Prisoners of War and those Missing in Action, those serving in the military today, and the veterans who continue to keep alive the memory of those who lost their lives in battle.
Residents were encouraged to fly the American flag and wear red, white and blue ribbons on Sept. 11 to honor the victims of the disaster and support the nations efforts to bring the perpetrators of the attacks to justice.
The culmination of the event was the commencement of a re-enactment and vigil by local veterans to honor the former POWs and those who are missing. For the re-enactment, which has been organized and carried out by Davis and members of the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 779 for the past four years, veterans took turns sitting in a small bamboo cage, similar to those occupied by POWs during the Vietnam War.
The cage was built by Davis and his peers, who took shifts inside the small enclosure for a period of 24 hours, beginning right after the ceremony ended, and concluding Saturday evening. The cage, lined with hay, is intended to show the filthy, cramped conditions endured by American prisoners of war. The cage was actually much larger than the actual cages many POWs were kept in by the North Vietnamese.
It s much bigger than the ones they had. They called them tiger cages, because that's
the type of cage they used to hold the tigers after they caught them, said Davis, adding that the cage they used for the vigil was approximately 6 feet wide, 6 feet long and about 5 feet, 11 inches high. Actual POW cages would have been at least half that size, and were built by the prisoners themselves, according to Davis.
Prisoners who attempted to escape or fight back against the Vietnamese soldiers, Davis said, were severely punished by having their cages submerged in nearby rivers, as they gripped the upper bars, fighting to keep their heads above water while fighting off snakes and water rats. Malnourished prisoners would occasionally kill such animals for food.
At times, the cages would be dunked in the filthy water repeatedly, while prisoners struggled for air. Others were simply tortured to death. When the Vietnamese took prisoners, they rarely kept them in Vietnam. Instead, they were taken to camps in other communist countries, he added. Currently, there are still 55 New Jersey residents who went to war and are listed as Missing In Action. Davis said, however, that there may be reason to believe some of them are still alive.
There have been reports from North and South Vietnamese that they have seen American POWs, Davis said.
The councilman said he is often approached by people while he is in the bamboo cage. Often, they will sit next to him and ask questions about the conditions that POWs had to endure. One of the first questions they ask is whether he was a POW.
I tell them I wasn't a prisoner and that a former POW would never get back in that cage, said Davis.
Some former prisoners who are members of the local veterans organizations were skeptical about even attending the vigil and seeing the cage, for fear that the gruesome memories may be too much to handle.
Davis said the vigil will likely be held again next year in another municipality, and, similar to this year s event, will be larger still.
[ Source:
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