A plaque unveiled Sunday explains the reason for the unoccupied chair of honor at Petco Park. (Hayne Palmour IV)

One of the best seats in the house at Petco Park will forever be reserved in honor of prisoners of war and those who went missing in action, after a special dedication on Sunday.

The black chair in the right field grandstand area’s Rotary Flag Court sits behind a white rope near a plaque that explains its emptiness.

“This unoccupied seat is dedicated to the memory of those brave men and women, and to the sacrifices each made in serving our country,” the plaque reads. “There will always be a place set aside in Petco Park awaiting their return.”


Since World War I, more than 92,000 American service members have gone missing. More than that number have been prisoners of war. Sunday’s dedication was attended by four former prisoners, including retired Navy Capt. Jack Ensch, a Vietnam War veteran.

Ensch was captured after his F-4 Phantom II was shot down and he was held in a Hanoi prison between August 1972 and March 1973. His thumb was cut off while he was there, he said.

While Ensch appreciates that the spot recognizes POWs, he felt it was those who went missing and their families that deserved it most.

“We served, we suffered, but we came home and got on with our lives,” he said. “The MIAs — their families still don’t know what their fate is.”


He said his family members know what it’s like to agonize over someone lost in war. After his plane crashed, it took four months for them to be told he was taken prisoner. The family of his plane’s pilot wasn’t as fortunate. It took 13 years for his remains to be returned to the United States.

“It really means a lot to me that this seat is reserved for them,” Ensch said of those missing in action. “When people walk by here, I hope they’ll stop, pause and think, ‘All the freedoms we have here in this country aren’t free. It’s paid for in the blood, sweat and tears of those who go out to fight our battles.’ ”

Tom Seidler, senior vice president of community and military affairs for the Padres, said the dedication has been a couple of years in the making. Officials considered a number of locations in the park, including the Western Metal Supply Co. building, before settling on the flag court.

“This place just screamed out as a location that would give it a highly visible stage,” Seidler said.


Michelle Sirota of San Diego paused at the memorial with her dad, Sam Viglione, who served in the Navy during the Korean War. He said one of his friends, a submariner named Dick Calabresse, went missing in action while on a mission in Tokyo Bay.

Both said the memorial warmed their hearts.

“We all have to remember the men and women who served this country and never came home,” she said.

lyndsay.winkley@sduniontribune.com