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Kadena honors prisoners of war, missing in action

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Maeson L. Elleman
  • 18th Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  This year's Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Remembrance Day theme was "Keeping the Promise," a declaration to all POWs and MIA from all branches of services that they would not be forgotten.

In honor of the observance, Team Kadena, led by the Air Force Sergeants Association Chapter 1553, hosted a 24-hour vigil run, which began Sept. 19, as well as a flag pole ceremony and breakfast Sept. 20.

"It's all about remembering those who have gone before us, who have done great things, who've lost their lives ... families who've lost their loved ones," said Master Sgt. Antoinette Volious, AFSA Chapter 1553 president. "A lot of times we take those things for granted and complain about simple things, but it's not until we really remember why we're here and why we do what we do and all the folks that have allowed us to be here and lost their lives."

Beginning at 6 a.m. Sept. 19, the POW/MIA flag flew prominently in the hands of numerous participants as it made countless passes around the Marek Park track along with a total of approximately 500 runners throughout the day and night.

Different from last year's remembrance day, this year's run also included volunteers who read the names of POWs and MIA aloud - a task that, due to the vast number of names from the many conflicts throughout the years, only made it to last names beginning with "G" in alphabetical order throughout 24 hours of non-stop speaking.

The flag was then passed to its final escorts, members from the 320th Special Tactics Squadron, who ran in formation from the track to 18th Wing Headquarters the next day, where the wing hosted the flag pole ceremony.

Shortly after, a recognition breakfast was held at the Rocker NCO Club. The breakfast hosted a guest speaker, approximately 175 people in attendance and a presentation by the Kadena Honor Guard to show that though a day is set aside to honor POWs and MIA, their sacrifices should be remembered every other day as well.

"It's important to remember them because that could very well be one of us, one of our family members, one of our friends, so I think to have one day to remember them is certainly not enough," Volious said. "We should remember them every day, but to actually have a formal opportunity to say 'this is the day that we've set aside to remember those individuals' and bring everyone together is a wonderful opportunity."

Master Sgt. Renea Kosino, AFSA Plans and Programs trustee who led the team coordinating the event, said that the event also brought awareness of what the day really means to the military community.

"Us being in the military, we're very aware of what can and can't happen when we deploy or any other time when we're doing our duties," Kosino said. "However, some of our younger Airmen and NCOs haven't been exposed to that yet, so it brings awareness to them, but it also brings awareness to the public. I think a lot of people outside of the military don't realize that we still do search for all those people until they're found and that we do still recognize them being gone.

Kosino hails from a list of military family members, including her great uncle, Art Kosino, who was captured by enemy militants in Germany and survived as a POW for a short period before returning home safely many years ago.

To continue to honor the ones like her great uncle who were placed in similar or worse situations where many endured the unthinkable and unbearable, Kosino said everyone should continue to observe the remembrance day.

"We definitely need to keep doing it because you can't stop remembering until everyone comes home," she said.