Photo: www.olacommunitynewsletter.com

Something is missing from the Riverside Dining Facility at Patrick Air Force Base: the traditional POW/MIA “Missing Man” table.
Such tables, a mainstay at military bases and veterans’ organizations, are set for six, one for each service — the Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Coast Guard and civilian personnel — representing personnel missing in action or taken as prisoners of war.
The table was removed from Florida’s Patrick Air Force Base because of one item traditionally placed on the table — a copy of the Bible, according to Florida Today.
“The 45th Space Wing deeply desires to honor America’s Prisoners of War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) personnel,” commanders said in a written statement, Florida Today reported. “Unfortunately, the Bible’s presence or absence on the table at the Riverside Dining Facility ignited controversy and division, distracting from the table’s primary purpose of honoring POWs/MIAs. Consequently, we temporarily replaced the table with the POW/MIA flag in an effort to show our continued support of these heroes while seeking an acceptable solution to the controversy.”
Each POW/MIA table is to be set with absolute precision, according to the National League of POW/MIA Families, which described the setting this way:

• The table is round – to show our everlasting concern.
• The cloth is white – symbolizing the purity of their motives when answering the call to serve.
• The single red rose reminds us of the lives of these Americans, and their loved ones and friends who keep the faith, while seeking answers.
• The red ribbon symbolizes our continued determination to account for them.
• A slice of lemon reminds us of the bitter fate of those captured and missing in a foreign land.
• A pinch of salt symbolizes the tears of our missing and their families who long for answers after decades of uncertainty.
• The lighted candle reflects our hope for their return – alive or dead.
• The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under God, to sustain those lost from our midst.
• The glass is inverted – to symbolize their inability to share a toast.
• The chairs are empty – they are missing.

So how is the Air Force going to resolve the situation?

Read More: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/04/01/air-force-removes-powmia-missing-man-table-because-it-includes-a-bible-109826