VALDOSTA -- When Susan Stephens' brother-in-law was shot down four miles shy of the Cambodia border during the Vietnam War, she realized the hauntingly empty feeling of relinquishing a loved one to "missing in action."
Today, Stephens joins thousands of Americans in remembering prisoners of war and those missing in action on the national recognition day honoring those persons past and present.
Valdosta State University's Air Force ROTC program holds a yearly commemoration, and for the past two years chose to visibly pay tribute to those affected by POW/MIA incidents.
This year, the cadets symbolized an airmen imprisoned after his airplane was shot down over enemy territory.
An ROTC cadet wearing a flight suit stepped into a bamboo cage Thursday evening while another cadet wearing fatigues portrayed the military force holding the prisoner captive.
The 24-hour vigil will continue through 6 p.m. this evening to honor those held in captivity.
Inside a cage, or box, a prisoner of war has little more to do than think of loved ones and pray for a safe return.
Prisoners may look at photos or scripture verses hidden from enemy eyes while enduring unspeakable torture.
Many prisoners of war don't come home, and families face countless nights of dreams speckled with slivers of hope and a need for resolution.
Stephens, a retired school teacher, tells a story of hope, worry and final resolve.
In 1970 she helped form the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia to give families comfort and help connect them with resources to bring loved ones home.
She knew her brother-in-law was shot down in a two-seater L-19 Bird Dog and found out the pilot was ejected from the aircraft and died instantly.
More than 35 years passed before Stephens found out her brother climbed out of the aircraft alive but was executed by the enemy.
Today, thousands of unresolved cases from Operations Desert Shield and Storm, the Vietnam War, Cold War, Korean War and World War II are identified by advanced DNA technology at the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command's Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii.
Modern-day technology brings peace to many men and women wanting to know what happened to missing persons.
Cadet Aubrea Diehl, a junior and exercise physiology major at VSU, helped to coordinate this year's ROTC commemoration event.
Diehl said the program wanted to depict POW's captured, detained and tortured, stretching through a timeless web of isolated uncertainty.
"In the military, you always have the potential of becoming a prisoner of war," Diehl said. "You are isolated and most of the time tortured."
Diehl said she's spoken with older POW's who recall the hardship of being separated from family.
Stephens said the League of Families aims to keep memories of fallen soldiers alive.
"Dying for freedom isn't the worst that can happen. Being forgotten is," Stephens said.
To view the League's Web site, go to www.pow-miafamilies.org.
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