SOUTH HADLEY — The Select Board approved that the South Hadley American Legion Post 260 can permanently place a POW/MIA Chair of Honor at the South Hadley Sports Complex.
South Hadley American Legion has been working to honor eight South Hadley hometown heroes whose status remains Missing in Action. All eight were lost during WWII.
During the Select Board meeting on Sept. 10, Brian Willette from the South Hadley American Legion Post 260 met with the board to propose placing a Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Chair of Honor at the South Hadley Sports Stadium Complex located adjacent to South Hadley High School.
Willette said the chair will serve as a permanent symbol of remembrance of the missing and will help teach the youth the importance of recognizing those missing.
Willette explained that the chair of honor program is a national program that places a POW/MIA stadium chair in a stadium environment.
He added, “We currently have 81,000 service members who remain missing in action and 2,800 from them from Massachusetts. Several years ago, we came to find out there are eight from South Hadley who remain missing in action.”
Three of the eight missing are South Hadley High School graduates. Willette said they learned a lot about their stories and is actively working with Purple Hearts Reunited to find their families and invite them to a ceremony.
Willette said, “These stories of their lives are ripped from the history books of World War II and some very traumatic stories that they were engaged in battles, and now we’re on to contacting family members. That’s our next goal.”
The on-field ceremony for the Chair of Honor dedication will take place on Friday, Sept. 27 starting at 6:30 p.m., prior to the Tigers vs. Chicopee football game.
This date is near National POW/MIA Recognition Day, which is recognized annually on the third Friday in September. Sept. 27 is also first responder night and military night.
The event will also include a guest speaker, United States Navy Rear Admiral Jennifer Couture.
Willette said the Hussey Co. has agreed to donate the chair and the American Legion Post 260 has sponsored the shipping costs of $200 for the chair, as well as sponsor the cost of a POW/MIA flag.
The South Hadley American Legion Post 260 has been in close communication with the Hussey Stadium Chair Company, a partner in the National Chair of Honor Program.
Willette said American Legion Post 260 would also like to see the nationally recognized POW/MIA Flag displayed properly below the American flag at the same sports stadium.
For the history of the program, the Chair of Honor and POW/MIA flag commemorates and reminds everyone that there are still American service members who are prisoners of war or missing in action.
POW/MIA chairs are found across the United States, in sports arenas and stadiums, including at Gillette Stadium and Fenway Park, town halls and state capitols. The chairs are meant to represent those service members who are unable to fill them because of their sacrifices. The chair is empty, they are not here. They also remind us of the men and women who serve our country every day.
The athletic commission has already approved the idea and picked a spot for the chair monument. The Select Board unanimously approved the permanent monument during its Sept. 10 meeting.
“It’s much appreciated,” Willette concluded.
