LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
More than 40 guests solemnly honored the nation's prisoners of war and servicemembers missing in action during the Joint Base Langley-Eustis National POW/MIA Recognition Day Ceremony Sept. 16, 2011.
The event at the Langley POW/MIA Memorial was organized by the Air Force Sergeant's Association's Chapter 358, and hosted several former POWs and family members. The ceremony featured an emotional speech by retired Navy Cmdr. Paul E. Galanti, a highly-decorated Vietnam War veteran who spent nearly seven years as a POW in the infamous Hanoi Hilton after being shot down June 17, 1966, near Vinh, North Vietnam.
Galanti chronicled his time in the prison, recalling torture sessions, freezing nights and having lost track of the time he spent there. In his darkest hours, his comrades kept him resilient enough to survive the ordeal.
"No matter how bad I thought I had it, someone else had it worse," said Galanti, who serves as the commissioner of Veterans Services for the Commonwealth of Virginia. "Once I realized that, that made me not feel so bad about myself."
"Most Americans don't understand sacrifice, but everybody who has ever worn a uniform does," he continued, applauding service members for their selflessness in being separated from family, friends and home in the line of duty.
Following his speech, he joined Army Col. Reggie Austin, the 633rd Air Base Wing vice commander, to lay a wreath at the memorial, continuing the tradition that began in 2010.
Master Sgt. Lorrie McCarty, an AFSA Chapter 358 event organizer, said the ceremony "created memories and lasting friendships."
"Remembering our POW/MIA comrades has been an honor and I will always be at the first of the line to salute those who gave so much," she said after the ceremony. "I thank all who helped in planning this, and especially to our former POWs and MIAs. They will always have a special place in my heart."
Congress passed a resolution authorizing the inaugural National POW/MIA Recognition Day to be observed on July 18, 1979. The observance dates varied until 1986, when Congress designated the third Friday of September as the official observance. According to the Defense Prisoner of War and Missing Personnel Office, there are more than 83,000 American servicemembers missing from World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Vietnam War and the 1991 Gulf War.