In recent years, ETSU has been named a military friendly school by magazines such as GI Jobs.
In keeping up with honoring active and retired military members and their dependents, ETSU has also taken the step to honor service members who are classified as Prisoners Of War or Missing In Action.
The university has done so by installing a stadium chair the in William B. Greene Jr. Stadium specifically for these service members. The chair was officially presented during Saturday’s football game against Mercer.
“I started to work on this when the Department of Veterans Affairs said they wanted one,” Student Government Association senator Nathan Vernon said. “I was like, ‘You know this actually is a really good initiative because Bristol has one, UT has one, UT at Martin has one. All these other schools have one, and we are one of the most veteran friendly campuses around, and we didn’t have one.'”
SGA senator Brittney Storey said that the talks for installing the POW/MIA chair in the stadium began in August, and the bill to approve the chair went through the senate with support.
“The way it works is a bill has to pass in a committee,” Storey said. “… It passed unanimously. In the senate the way it works is that you’re supposed to have a debate on it … They just immediately voted on it without debating it, and it passed perfect score.”
Along with the SGA, other organizations that helped bring the POW/MIA chair to ETSU included the ROTC, the Veterans Affairs Office and the Athletic Department. Vernon said that the funding for installing the chair came from the Student Veterans Affairs.
Rolling Thunder, Tennessee Chapter 4, provided the plaque and chair, and Vernon said they chose the location it is in for a specific reason.
“Section V, Seat 15,” Vernon said. “They picked Section V for Veteran, and it’s the last seat that has a perfect overview of the game. The chair is meant to remind us that the reason we are able to play football is because of men and women like that, who pay the final price for the freedom.”
Members of Rolling Thunder were present at Saturday’s football game during the presentation of the POW/MIA chair. Vice President Will Hardy said he that pleased with the design of the chair and where the chair is located. He also said that it is important to have a chair dedicated to the POW/MIA, because it reaffirms the mission of Rolling Thunder.
“The main purpose is to educate the public about the 58,000 prisoners of war that are still missing and unaccounted for,” Hardy said. “It’s just a reminder of our motto ‘Never Forget’, and it’s a reminder of those who haven’t come home yet.”
