POW/MIA to be remembered during National Recognition Day vigil in Metuchen

An impassioned group of military veterans are continuing to use their collective voices to heighten awareness about service members who remain missing in action.

The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 233 of New Jersey will host its annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day Vigil at Memorial Park on Essex Avenue in Metuchen during the weekend of Sept. 15-16.

The 24-hour event will commence with opening ceremonies Sept. 15 at noon and conclude with closing ceremonies Sept. 16 at 10 a.m.

All are invited to attend the solemn ceremony, which Chapter 233 has hosted for more than three decades.

According to the National League of POW/MIA Families, 40 of the country’s current 1,584 missing and unaccounted for members of the U.S. Armed Forces who served in Vietnam are from New Jersey. They are among more than 83,000 American heroes who fought with valor from World War II through today who are still classified as missing and have not returned.

“Those service members gave their lives so that we can be part of the greatest country on the face of the earth,” said state Sen. Patrick Diegnan, who will be among several dignitaries delivering remarks at this year’s opening and closing ceremonies.

“It’s incomprehensible to think of the sacrifices of POWs and MIAs and their families. This annual vigil is so important to give recognition to those that made beyond the ultimate sacrifice.”

The military veterans who organize and participate in the vigil honor and remember those service members who remain unaccounted for through powerful stories and emotional speeches, all delivered in front of a fitting backdrop of photos, plaques, flags, flowers, and memorabilia.

“As long as I’m alive and we’re alive we are going to remember these people,” Jim Hixon, a U.S. Air Force veteran who was stationed in Vietnam in the mid ‘60s, said during last year’s vigil. “We were there and it could have been us. It’s hard to explain without getting emotional. I could have never come home. I’ll never forget that.”

This year’s vigil will be held nearly four months after the remains of Army Air Forces Staff Sgt. Michael Uhrin were returned to his hometown of Metuchen, where on Memorial Day the veteran was honored with a ceremony at Memorial Park before finally being laid to rest alongside family members at Hillside Cemetery.

At the age of 21, Uhrin was killed in October 1943 while serving as a radio operator on a bombing raid over Germany during World War II.

Uhrin’s remains were considered “nonrecoverable” until the U.S. Department of Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified his remains in 2021 using dental, anthropological, circumstantial, and other evidence.

More: WWII flyer killed over Germany makes final journey home to Metuchen

“Although Uhrin’s immediate family will never know that Michael’s remains would come back to Metuchen, it should give us all great comfort to know that our nation and our borough never forgot him and will continue to honor his legacy,” Metuchen Mayor Jonathan Busch said on Memorial Day weekend.

Among the most moving moments of Chapter 233’s annual vigil is the reading of names along with rank, town, birthdate, and date reported missing of those New Jersey service members who never returned home from Vietnam. Each is honored with the lighting of a candle, the ringing of a bell and the tethering of a custom-made oversized dog tag to a bamboo cage such as that which the North Vietnamese used to imprison service members.

A contingent of U.S. Naval Sea Cadets from the NWS Earle Division and Young Marines from Iselin will participate in this year’s event, providing an invaluable infusion of youth, according to Chapter 233 President Robin Goodrich.

An oversized POW-MIA banner and accompanying American flag will wave proudly from Memorial Park to drivers navigating the Essex Avenue stretch of Route 27 in Metuchen, which runs parallel to the park. Dozens of trees adorned with yellow ribbons and veterans donning military garb will reflect a solemn ceremony is taking place.

The vigil is among many events marking National POW/MIA Recognition Day, held annually across the country the third Friday of each September. All are designed to ensure America remembers its responsibility to stand behind those who serve and do everything possible to account for those who do not return.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: POW/MIA Recognition Day vigil returning to Metuchen