VIA sets Missing Man Table in Rehoboth library

For the month of November, the Village Improvement Association of Rehoboth Beach and the Rehoboth Beach library brought thoughts of thankfulness, remembrance and gratitude to military members and veterans with a Missing Man Table display. The table honors the men and women who have served or are serving in America's armed forces. On the table there sits a place setting for some soldier who is not there to share the meal, because he or she is deployed, dead, missing in action or imprisoned. Everything placed on the table symbolizes some aspect of the soldier’s sacrifice. The display was arranged by the Village Improvement Association's Public Issues Committee members Jane Starr, chair, and Susie Dominguez.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country's call to arms. A single red rose signifies the blood that many have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of the United States of America. The yellow ribbon on the vase represents the yellow ribbon worn on the lapels of thousands to recognize comrades not present today. A slice of lemon on the bread plate represents the bitter fate of the missing. Salt on the bread plate is for the countless fallen tears as loved ones wait. The inverted glass is for the missing and fallen who cannot partake. The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope, and the empty chair represents the missing and fallen who are not present but still remembered.