Mark Sman
05-27-2005, 10:46 PM
Table Tradition Honors Lost Vietnam Vets
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) -- The table is set with a white tablecloth, a black napkin and white candle, and a plate with only a slice of lemon and salt. An empty chair leans against the table.
The tradition, little known to the general public, of setting an empty table with a white tablecloth in remembrance of prisoners of war and those missing in action had its beginnings with a group of fighter pilots who flew in Vietnam.
But what was started by the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association - the so-called River Rats of Vietnam - has, during the intervening years, spread to other branches of the military where remembrance tables, or so-called missing man tables, are set when units or commands gather for dinners or reunions.
This Memorial Day, the story of the remembrance table will become a bit better known with the publication of the children's picture book "America's White Table," which tells the story of the tables.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WHITE_TABLES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-05-27-16-17-58
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press Writer
MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (AP) -- The table is set with a white tablecloth, a black napkin and white candle, and a plate with only a slice of lemon and salt. An empty chair leans against the table.
The tradition, little known to the general public, of setting an empty table with a white tablecloth in remembrance of prisoners of war and those missing in action had its beginnings with a group of fighter pilots who flew in Vietnam.
But what was started by the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association - the so-called River Rats of Vietnam - has, during the intervening years, spread to other branches of the military where remembrance tables, or so-called missing man tables, are set when units or commands gather for dinners or reunions.
This Memorial Day, the story of the remembrance table will become a bit better known with the publication of the children's picture book "America's White Table," which tells the story of the tables.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WHITE_TABLES?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-05-27-16-17-58