Why is the Air Force removing the Bible from their Missing Man Tables?
Missing Man Tables are a long honored military tradition as they serve as a reminder of Americans who are missing in action or who are being held as a prisoner of war. Traditionally, the display includes: a white table cloth setting, an inverted glass, a plate with lemon and salt, a single rose, a candle and a Bible.
However, recently someone at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida objected to the Bible’s placement on the table – and so the entire table was removed.
The Air Force’s explanation of what happened:
“The 45th Space Wing deeply desires to honor America’s Prisoners and War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) personnel. Unfortunately, the Bible’s presence or absence on the table at the Riverside Dining Facility ignited controversy and division, distracting from the table’s primary purpose of honoring POWs/MIAs. Consequently, we temporarily replaced the table with the POW/MIA flag in an effort to show our continued support of these heroes while seeking an acceptable solution to the controversy. After consultation with several relevant organizations, we now intend to re-introduce the POW/MIA table in a manner inclusive of all POWs/MIAs as well as Americans everywhere.”
“Since when does one unnamed, unknown individual have veto power over the First Amendment rights of all people in the military and in this case the Air Force?” asks Rep. John Fleming (R-La.), who states that the Air Force is the worst offender when it comes to attacks on religious liberty.
On March 14 Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Welsh told members of the House Armed Services committee that there was no war on religious liberty.
“The single biggest frustration I’ve had in this job is the perception that somehow there is religious persecution inside the United States Air Force,” the general told lawmakers. “It is not true.”
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) told me the Air Force seems to be the worst offender when it comes to attacks on religious liberty.
If that’s true, perhaps Gen. Welsh could explain why a Bible was removed from a POW/MIA Missing Man Table at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The removal of the Good Book was first reported by the Gannett-owned newspaper Florida Today.
Base officials confirmed to Fox News Monday that the entire Missing Man Table display had been removed from a dining hall because of the Bible. A press statement said the inclusion of the Bible ignited “controversy and division.”
Missing Man Tables are a long honored military tradition. The tables serve as a reminder of the plight of brave Americans who are missing in action or who are being held prisoner of war. The display includes a white table cloth setting with an inverted glass, a plate with lemon and salt, a single rose, a candle and a Bible.
Each item is an integral part of the Missing Man Table & Honors Ceremony, according to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia.
“The Bible represents the strength gained through faith in our country, founded as one nation under god, to sustain those lost from our midst,” the official ceremony document states.
However, someone at Patrick Air Force Base objected to the Bible’s placement on the table.
The following is the Air Force’s explanation of what happened:
“The 45th Space Wing deeply desires to honor America’s Prisoners and War (POW) and Missing in Action (MIA) personnel. Unfortunately, the Bible’s presence or absence on the table at the Riverside Dining Facility ignited controversy and division, distracting from the table’s primary purpose of honoring POWs/MIAs. Consequently, we temporarily replaced the table with the POW/MIA flag in an effort to show our continued support of these heroes while seeking an acceptable solution to the controversy. After consultation with several relevant organizations, we now intend to re-introduce the POW/MIA table in a manner inclusive of all POWs/MIAs as well as Americans everywhere.”
The Air Force did not say when the Missing Man Table would be returned. Nor did they say whether the Bible would be included in the display. They also declined to explain what they meant by the word “inclusive.”
Retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, now an executive vice president with the Family Research Council, denounced the Air Force Academy’s actions.
“I’m still looking for somebody in a leadership position in the Air Force with an ounce of courage,” he told me. “They buckle to an extreme minority group every time and constitutionally they are simply wrong.”
Rep. John Fleming (R-La.) told me the Air Force seems to be the worst offender when it comes to attacks on religious liberty.
“It’s very disconcerting that all it takes is for someone to be offended by that – and it comes down,” he said. “The First Amendment is very clear on this. Speech may offend some people – in this case maybe Christianity offends some people in the Air Force – but that doesn’t matter. We’re stil allowed to speak about our closely held beliefs.”
Fleming accused the Air Force of ignoring the law.
“Since when does one unnamed, unknown individual have veto power over the First Amendment rights of all people in the military and in this case the Air Force?” he asked.
Ann Mills-Griffiths, is the chairman of the National League of POW/MIA Families. She told me she was glad the Air Force base is going to reinstall the Missing Man Table, but she wonders if the new display will include the Bible.
She said the Bible is “part of the Missing Man Honor Ceremony and we hope it will be restored to what it was.”
“Our country is one nation under God,” she said. “It doesn’t seem outrageous or unreasonable to have the Bible on the table.”
Ron Crews, the executive director of the Chaplain Alliance for Religious Liberty, told me he hopes the Air Force will restore the Bible to its rightful place. He called it a symbol of hope and courage for military personnel and their families.
“It is sad when military traditions honoring our POWs and MIAs are trumped by pursuits to remove any vestige of the faith that has sustained our warriors since Valley Forge,” Crews told me.
Earlier this month, a cadet at the Air Force Academy removed an inspirational Bible verse from a white board hanging outside his dorm room. Air Force officials said the cadet “voluntarily” removed the verse after someone complained.
However, Liberty Institute attorney Michael Berry said he was told by officials at the Air Force Academy that had the cadet not voluntarily removed the verse, he would have been ordered to remove it.
so there is controversy. Let those that do not like it go the other way , they do not have to look at it. No reason to shut the whole thing down, tell those who are fighting to go stand in the corner like bad children, and tell them things stay the way they are because IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO. Stand up to them. I am offended over all those who can shut things down by being offended. I am offended by them, so please make them disappear. God Bless Us All. What is wrong with this country anyway.
Can’t everyone see that we are being taken over by Islam? Wake the hell up!!
how long has this been a tradition & suddenly in 2014 someone objects & they are going to CHANGE it now???
I want e1 in all branches 2 listen up. I am a former marine, love my country, took an oath and still stand by it. Did you people forget that this GREAT COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON THE 3 Gs. GOD, GUNS. and GUTS IS WHAT MADE THIS COUNTRY GREAT. I just want 2 puke that you just gave up and kissing ass. GROW A SET OF BALLS, STAND STRAIGHT, BE A MAN and KEEP THE OATH 2 PROTECT THIS COUNTRY. DO NOT BOW 2 NO ONE LIKE OBAMA DOES. Semper Fi
Why does someone have the right to change a tradition of long standing tell them to go somewhere else, they don’t have to look at it and believe me God knows who they are and where the are going. So they are to pited.
because obama is a muslim and is taking away our Religious rights
Talk to your Anti Christ Commander in Chief who is of the Muslim Brotherhood!
Remove the individual, not the Bible.
Obama is the AntiChrist
air force, wake up, respect the bible. do you fear it??