R. Norman Moody

FLORIDA TODAY;

When Michael Tater did not see the POW/MIA Missing Man Table at the Riverside DiningFacilityat Patrick Air Force Base, his reaction was of disbelief.

Missing Man Tables — fully set tables left vacant for military members who didn’t return from combat — are commonplace at military and veterans organizations. One had been a fixture at Riverside.

But a dispute over including a Bible as part of the display led to itsremoval from the dining hall.

But commanders at the base have rethought that decision. They said Friday that the table would again be displayed at Riverside, but they did not specify a time for the reintroduction of the table or what items will or will not be included on it.

“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. “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.”

“After consultation with several relevant organizations, we now intend to re-introduce the POW/MIA table in a manner inclusive of all POWs/MIAs as well as Americans everywhere.” the statement said.

Tater, a retired Air Force master sergeant who splits his time between the base’s campground and Goshen, Ohio, said he and his wife had stayed away from the dining facility last week in protest.

Tater, a 64-year-old Vietnam veteran, said he is still awaiting a response to a letter he sent to commanders at the base asking that the table be put back on display at the dining facility. He said he also complained a few months ago when the Bible was removed form the table.

“I’m glad to know that its going to be back in,” he said. “I’ll be looking for it.”

The small table with its white table cloth has among other items, an inverted glass, a plate with a lemon and salt, a single rose and yellow ribbon.

Bob Cooper, president of Rolling Thunder Chapter One in Brevard, an advocate for POW/MIA issues, said he too had written to commanders at Patrick asking that they table remain in the dining facility.

Ann Mills-Griffiths, chairman of the board of the National League of POW/MIA families, said the most important thing is the continued effort to bring home the missing, but that the missing man table is an import symbol.

She said she had hoped the table would be returned.