Joint ‘team’ runs for POW/MIAs

PENSACOLA, Fla. - More than 300 Air Force, Marine and Navy service members attended the Vigil Run opening ceremony in commemoration of POW/MIA Day. Several of those service members volunteered to walk or run circuits of the courtyard – carrying the POW/MIA flag - for 24 consecutive Sept. 20-21 and taking shifts in an effort to keep the POW/MIA flag in motion. Air Force 359th Training Squadron Instructor Tech. Sgt. Matthew Barnes said the event served to create an awareness of the 131,000 American service members who have been classified as POWs and 82,000 MIAs to ensure their memories of sacrifices are not forgotten. “Prisoners of War are held captive 24-hours a day, 365 days a year,” Barnes said. “(W)e wanted to start this run (Sept. 20) and continue it for 24 hours to symbolize the vigilance and courage those POWs must have had daily while held in captivity.” Guest speaker at the event included former POW and retired Navy Capt. Robert Doremus, a radar intercept officer who spent nearly 2,800 days in captivity in Vietnam, and was released from captivity during Operation Homecoming on Feb. 12, 1973. He addressed a largely student audience on the importance of working together as a means of achieving common goals. “The whole time we were there, we were joint forces,” Doremus said. There were members from all branches of the services – enlisted and officer – and some civilians. “You followed your creed and you became part of a team. And the whole idea is that of the ‘team,’ and that’s what it looks like out there when you see these troops running, marching, and standing at attention – they’re a team. That’s how it works, and that’s how it worked in prison," the former POW said. (Source: NAS Pensacola 09/21/18)