JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Friday is National POW/MIA Recognition Day.
It is a day to remember Americans who were prisoners of war and those who served and never returned home.
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Events are planned around our area over the next two days to honor them.
The first one is Friday morning at JFRD Station 47 on Ethel Road, which is near the Jacksonville National Cemetery.
There will be a POW/MIA flag that is raised on the flagpole outside of the station starting at 10 a.m. The event is organized by the Rotary Club of North Jacksonville.
On Saturday, there will be an all-day event at Cecil Field on Jacksonville’s Westside, which is also the site of the National POW/MIA Memorial and Museum. It starts at 10 a.m.
A program is scheduled to remember those who were prisoners of war and missing in action, along with their families.
Activities include aircraft and military equipment displays, museum tours and a flyover.
There are plans in the works to expand that museum, which include adding a new centerpiece and thousands of projections.
Pam Cain, who is on the board of directors at the museum, says she wants the museum to continue being a place for education. She hopes veterans and families can come and honor service members.
Cain expects there to be interactive exhibits and more programs held there after construction is done.
“We need to [remember] in our country not just here in Jacksonville or the state of Florida,” Cain said. “We need to remember but also to learn from what happened, what our POWs went through, the sacrifices they made. The fact that there are over 81,000 people still missing from the start of World War II to the present day. This memorial museum is going to tell the story of those missing.”
Cain also gave context to the historical significance of Cecil Field.
“Cecil Field was a master jet base,” she said. “A lot of pilots flew out of Cecil during Vietnam and some other conflicts as well. But during Vietnam, there were 16 who are featured in our memorial. [A] family did lose their father who was shot down. He was a Navy aviator and his wife became active early on when the wives were getting together.”
There is an active display at the Jacksonville International Airport until Sept. 26 called the “Missing Man Table.”
The table is put together to honor the more than 81,000 military members who are still missing from previous conflicts.
One person still missing is Cain’s father, Col. Oscar Moderer of the United States Air Force, whose plane was shot down over Laos in February 1966.
“That empty chair has been empty for a long time and you can see it still is really tough to deal with,” Cain said, thinking of her dad. “I think the one thing that keeps me going is all the people and experiences. When I see support like this, you don’t know what that does to a family member. It truly inspires and motivates us to keep going, to keep fighting. But that empty chair ... it’s tough. There’s no other way around it.”
As far as he future of the expansion of the museum, Cain says they are still looking for donations for the project.
She says completion of it could take anywhere between five and 10 years.