Set an Empty Table Tomorrow
I got this in email and thought it would be a tradition worth continuing.
"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.
"...The tradition, started by the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association - the so-called River Rats of Vietnam - has spread to other branches of the military where remembrance tables are set when units or commands gather for dinners or reunions.
"The symbols on the tables may vary depending on the ceremony. Generally, the tablecloth represents purity of heart, the black napkin the sorrow of captivity and the white candle, peace. The lemon represents the missing service member's bitter fate and the salt, the tears shed by the families of the missing."- Washington Times, 5/28/05
I got this in email and thought it would be a tradition worth continuing.
"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.
"...The tradition, started by the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association - the so-called River Rats of Vietnam - has spread to other branches of the military where remembrance tables are set when units or commands gather for dinners or reunions.
"The symbols on the tables may vary depending on the ceremony. Generally, the tablecloth represents purity of heart, the black napkin the sorrow of captivity and the white candle, peace. The lemon represents the missing service member's bitter fate and the salt, the tears shed by the families of the missing."- Washington Times, 5/28/05
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