Never Forgotten: College Dedicates 'Chair of Honor' To Remember POW/MIA Military Members

Empty chair at Eastern Campus represents a space for 83,000 service men and women missing since WWI

As a solemn tribute to prisoners of war and service members who are missing in action, Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C®) will remember those U.S. servicemen and women who have not returned home with a "Chair of Honor" at the Eastern Campus.

The College's POW/MIA Chair of Honor Dedication took place on Sept. 20, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, at the Simon and Rose Mandel Theatre. Tri-C partnered with Rolling Thunder Ohio Chapter 1 to place the black Chair of Honor on its campus.

"National POW/MIA Recognition Day honors all of our fellow Americans who were or may remain prisoners of war as well as those who never returned home," said Todd Kitchen, the president of the Eastern Campus and a U.S. Army veteran. "At its center is a very important message to all of these individuals: 'You are not forgotten.'"

The Chair of Honor supports Rolling Thunder's mission to provide education and awareness of POW/MIA members and the loss and pain suffered by their families. The chair, provided by the Hussey Seating Company, is intended to remain perpetually empty as a reminder that there is still space for the more than 83,000 U.S. military men and women who have been unaccounted for since World War I.

"The unoccupied seat we dedicate today honors the memory of those brave men and women and the sacrifices they made serving our country," said Kitchen.

Other chairs have been placed in various public spaces, from sports stadiums to small town government buildings.

The ceremony began with "The Star-Spangled Banner" and a presentation of colors by the Cleveland Police Color Guard. Kitchen and Tri-C alum Gwen Snorteland gave remarks, followed by a roll call and bell toll for missing persons. Tri-C JazzFest Academy student Brian Axiotis closed the ceremony by playing "Taps."

Kitchen served as a soldier in the U.S. Army from 1989 to 1998, stationed at Fort Riley in Kansas and the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. He was also deployed to Germany and the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

Tri-C's support of U.S. military members dates back to its founding in 1963. Since then, the College has enrolled and supported more than 40,000 service members, with many graduating and starting successful civilian careers.

September 23, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu