2015 LIGHT HORSE "SPRING" REUNION
LZ DAYTONA
Page11


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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