Words from the top
Col. David A. Suggs, commanding officer at U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, speaks to those gathered for Friday morning’s POW/MIA Remembrance Ceremony, including members of the Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club and Viet Nam Vets Motorcycle Club. Suggs speaks while a veteran listens in the background (photo at left). Suggs was the keynote speaker at Friday’s event, which included breakfast, was hosted by H.H. Donkersly American Legion Post 19, 2575 S. Virginia Drive, and included the traditional POW/MIA Table Ceremony, conducted by past post commander Connie Tyree. The VNV/LV Motorcycle Club, is the world’s largest all military motorcycle club, according to the club’s Facebook page. U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground Command Sgt. Maj. Jamey Nelson (left in photo bottom left) shakes hands with one of the attendees at the event. Nelson was one of the event’s special guests. A patch on the attendee’s vest reads, “In memory of over 58,044 brothers who never returned; Vietnam 59-75.” The POW/MIA Table (bottom center) includes, among other meaningful things, a small table set for one, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner; the table is round, showing everlasting concern for POW/MIAs; a white table cloth, symbolizing the purity of our men and women’s motives when answering the call to duty; a single red rose, reminding us of the lives of these men and women, their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers; a red ribbon that symbolizes continued determination to account for them; a slice of lemon reminding us of the bitter fate of those missing, captured and held as prisoners in foreign lands; a pinch of salt, symbolizing the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty; a candle, reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home; an inverted glass symbolizing their inability to share this evening’s toast; and an American flag, reminding us that many of them may never return, and have paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure our freedom. H.H. Donkersly American Legion Post 19 past commander Connie Tyree (bottom right) conducts the traditional POW/MIA Table Ceremony.