Missing
Trooper
Table Ceremony Script
Narrator:
Freedom’s call is demanding
It comes too often and asks much.
At times it demands all.
One way we consider that call and honor the
sacrifice of those
who answered is with the setting of the missing man table.
We remember our fallen this way today.
I would like to explain
the meaning of the
items on this special table:
The
table
before you is a place of honor.
This is our way of symbolizing the fact
that members of our profession of arms are missing from
our midst.
We
call
them "Brothers." They are unable to be with us today and
so we
remember them.
Table
is
round – To represent our everlasting concern.
Remember!
(ring
bell)
The
Tablecloth
is white -- Symbolizing the purity of their intentions to
respond to
their country's call to arms.
Remember!
(ring
bell)
The Place Setting is for
just one person,
alone no friends or family to dine with.
Remember!
(ring
bell)
A single Red
Rose symbolizes the
soldier’s sacrifice. It signifies the blood that has been shed in
sacrifice to ensure
the freedom of our beloved United States of America.
Remember!
(ring
bell)
The Yellow Ribbon, tied prominently on the vase, is the symbol
of our
continued determination to always remember them.
Remember!
(ring
bell)
A Slice of Lemon is on the plate to remind
us of their bitter
fate.
Remember! (ring bell)
Salt sprinkled
on the plate
represents the countless tears of families and loved ones
shed for the soldiers.
Remember! (ring bell)
The Glass is inverted -- They cannot share
a toast with us today.
Remember! (ring bell)
The Chair -- The chair is empty. They are
not here.
Remember! (ring bell)
The Candle (the candle is then lit) – The
lighting of this
candle serves to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice our
fallen comrades and
their families have made to preserve the precious freedom
we all cherish today.
As a small tribute, I ask that we take a
moment of silence as an
expression of our gratitude to those who sacrificed for
us.
(Pause for a moment) Remember! (ring bell)
Remember! -- All of you who served with
them and called them
comrades, who depended upon their might and aid, and
relied upon them, for
surely, they have not forsaken you.
Remember! (ring bell)
End
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Table Set-up
A small, round bistro table
White tablecloth
Single place setting, preferably all white
Wine glass - inverted
Salt shaker
Slice of lemon
Salt
Small bud vase with a single stem red rose
Yellow ribbon tied around the vase
Candle – lit later
Empty chair
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