By Sheriff Kevin F. Coppinger
Special to The Valley Patriot
More than three decades ago, an extraordinary idea came from behind the walls of the Middleton Jail and House of Correction. Men who were incarcerated there wanted to make sure that Massachusetts servicemen who went to war in Vietnam and never came home would never be forgotten.
Those incarcerated men began the effort in 1993 that would lead to the creation of our POW-MIA Monument. Men who had lost their own freedom chose to honor men who had risked everything — including their freedom and their lives — in service to our country. The monument they helped bring to life still stands in Middleton today, bearing the names of 65 Massachusetts servicemen who were reported Missing in Action during the Vietnam War.
It is a remarkable part of the monument’s history and one worth remembering. It is also a powerful reminder that remembrance can come from unexpected places.
The monument was erected in 1994 and remains a place of reflection and gratitude and a reminder of a promise our nation has made to those who served: You are not forgotten.
On Friday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m., the Essex County Sheriff’s Department will gather at the monument for our annual POW-MIA Recognition Day Ceremony. We invite veterans, families and members of the public to join us at our Middleton facility as we honor these brave servicemen and all American prisoners of war and those who remain missing in action.
This ceremony is one of the most meaningful traditions we have at the Sheriff’s Department.
More than three decades have passed since the monument was erected, but the commitment behind it remains as important today as it was then. Over the years, advances in recovery and identification have brought some long-awaited answers. The remains of 26 of the servicemen represented on the monument have been returned to their families.
Each identification is a reminder that the mission to account for those who served does not end with the passage of time.
Neither should our responsibility to remember them.
Every year, our ceremony includes the reading of the names on the monument. One by one, they are spoken aloud, followed by the ringing of a bell. We also present the Missing Man Table, with each item on that table symbolizing the absence, sacrifice and hope associated with our POWs and MIAs.
These traditions are solemn for a reason. They ask us to stop what we are doing, even if only for a short time, and remember that behind every name is a person. And behind every one of those names is also a family.
Parents, wives, children, brothers and sisters lived for years without knowing what happened to someone they loved. For those families, the words “missing in action” are not simply a historical designation. They represent an empty chair, unanswered questions and the enduring hope that someday their loved one will come home.
Our annual ceremony also has special meaning because of the many veterans and current military service members who work at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. Many of these employees participate in the ceremony each year. Some have served in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps or Coast Guard. Others continue to serve our nation through the National Guard and Reserves while also serving the people of Essex County here at home.
When they stand beside the monument, read a name, participate in our Honor Guard or help carry out one of the ceremony’s traditions, they bring a perspective that is uniquely their own. They understand the bonds of military service and what it means to serve something larger than oneself.
I am proud of them and grateful for the sacrifices they and their families make.
As Sheriff, I also believe this monument represents something important about our Department and the role a correctional institution can play in its community. Its origins are a reminder that incarceration does not eliminate a person’s ability to contribute, to reflect or to do something meaningful for others.
The incarcerated men who began this effort in 1993 could not change the sacrifices made by the servicemen whose names would eventually be placed on this monument. They could not bring those men home. But they could make sure they were remembered.
They chose to do something meaningful. Today, it is our responsibility to carry that work forward.
The POW-MIA Monument is always open to the public for viewing. You do not have to wait for our annual ceremony to visit it. I encourage parents to bring their children, veterans to bring fellow veterans, and residents to stop and read the names.
Read them slowly.
Remember that every one of those names represents a life, a family and a sacrifice made on behalf of our country. And on Friday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m., I hope you will join us at the Essex County Sheriff’s Department in Middleton as we gather once again.
We will read their names.
We will ring the bell.
We will remember their families.
And together, we will reaffirm a promise that must endure from one generation to the next:
You are not forgotten.
Kevin F. Coppinger is the Sheriff of Essex County and a former Lynn Police Chief with more than four decades in law enforcement. He oversees the Middleton Jail and House of Correction, the Essex County Pre-release and Re-entry Center in Lawrence, and the Women in Transition facility in Salisbury.