Home > News > Article Display

In memory of the missing

By Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson, 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs / Published September 22, 2015

PRINT | E-MAIL
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The Prisoners of War/Missing in Action Remembrance Week was held, Sept. 14-17, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina, to remind Airmen of those who served as POW/MIAs.

Every year, POW/MIA Remembrance Week is recognized at Seymour Johnson AFB with events to pay respect to the service members who were held captive or did not return home during past and present wars.

"There are so many people who have served before us, giving their lives and going into unknown dangers to fight for our safety and security as a nation," said Master Sgt. Benjamin Ackerman, 4th Contracting Squadron contracting officer. "Too many of those same people have never made it home, and their loved ones have been left to wonder what has happened. I could not imagine not having that sense of closure, and to be able to be part of anything that can show these families that their sacrifice, and the sacrifice of their loved ones, is not forgotten, it is truly something that anyone that has a patriotic heart should do."

The week kicked off with a 5K run in front of 4th Fighter Wing headquarters where more than 150 Airmen participated. A motorcycle precession led the run while waving the POW/MIA flag from the back of Ackerman's motorcycle.

"It's important because we don't want to forget," said Master Sgt. Katie Neeley, 4th Aerospace Medicine Squadron dental flight chief. "You get busy with your day to day life, work, everything going on; sometimes you forget where we came from, who paved the way for us, today as military members, not just in the Air Force, but every service."

Information booths were also displayed throughout the 4th Force Support Squadron, and two free movies, with POW/MIA themes, were shown at the base theater. The week's events also featured a 24-hour name reading run at the 2-mile track. During the run, teams alternated running with the POW/MIA flag and reading the names of fallen heroes. The last lap of the run led up to the closing ceremony for the National POW/MIA Recognition Day.

"The 5k and 24-hour runs were both awesome in their own rights," said Ackerman. "The 5k because this was the first year we did it and had about 150 runners involved, and the 24-hour run because I think the tie in of the end of the run into the closing ceremony with a motorcycle escorted transfer of the flag was pretty awesome."

At the ceremony, a recitation of the Loneliest Prayer by Del "Abe" Jones was read, four F-15E Strike Eagles performed a missing man flyover, and retired U.S. Army Gen. Dan K. McNeill commemorated POW/MIA service members for their courage and honor.

"We're here to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves, those who have not come home," McNeill said. "On some quiet evenings, if we listen closely, we can hear the quiet sobs of a mother or a spouse for someone who didn't come home."
USAF Comments Policy
If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

  • This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
  • Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
  • This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.