There’s a new memorial to prisoners of war and those missing in action near Branson. College of the Ozarks held an unveiling Thursday for the POW/MIA memorial with multiple guest speakers, the C of O choir and musicians, a color guard and a flyover by Whiteman Airforce Base.
One speaker was Colonel John Clark who was a prisoner of war at a prison dubbed "the Hanoi Hilton" in Vietnam.
"When I was shot down, both pilots were reported as missing in action and presumed killed," he said. "For 3 1/2 years, I was dead to my family and to my nation. In reality, we both escaped the aircraft in the few seconds before it became a huge fireball in the side of a steep bridge. I evaded my captors for a short period of time but eventually captured alive. The other pilot opted to commit suicide by the North Vietnamese and was killed."
The monument is set apart from the main plaza in Patriots Park by a meandering path. C of O President Dr. Brad Johnson said that’s symbolic of the isolation felt by prisoners of war and those still missing in action, "however, with this memorial, we want each of them to know that they do not stand alone."
The crowd watched on the screen as a vehicle took special guests, including Clark, down the path to the memorial where they pulled a black cloth off to unveil it. C of O students then laid yellow roses in a circle around it that represented prisoners of war and those who are missing in action.
The memorial includes the POW/MIA emblem with the Lord’s Prayer engraved on the back. It features an eternal flame and a figure of a prisoner of war reaching upward in prayer.
The POW/MIA Memorial was designed by James Hall III of Nixa whose work includes 3 other memorials in Patriots Park.
