America's White Table

America's White Table

Articles - 2

SETTING THE WHITE

TABLE IN SCHOOLS

Jackson Citizen Patriot (MI)

November 10, 2005

Jessi De La Cruz

Queen students set up table as remembrance

The white-linen covered table set for a meal outside the lunch room at Queen of the Miraculous Medal School on Wednesday served as a history lesson and a tribute for Veterans Day.

Students in the K-6 school walked silently past the intentionally unattended table on their way to lunch. Having the table set was the culmination of a schoolwide lesson on Veterans Day, which included reading a children's book about the little-known white table tradition.

The tradition calls for a table to be set with specific items but to go unused as a symbol of remembrance to armed service members held prisoner of war or missing in action, as detailed in "Serving Those Who Served" by Margot Theis Raven.

"It helps them realize the sacrifice the veterans made for their country," said Jill Crowley, the school's kindergarten teacher who helped organize the project. "It gives them the chance to realize the meaning of Veterans Day."

The school set up the white table Wednesday because they won't be in school Friday. Students were given the opportunity to talk about relatives they have in the military and some talked about the war in Iraq, Crowley said.

"It is amazing how much (information) they took in," she said. "If we weren't in the middle of a conflict it would be a little more distant."

Following the tradition, student representatives from each class added a specific item to the table throughout the morning to complete the setting.

The lemon slice placed on the plate symbolizes a captive soldier's bitter fate and the grains of salt represent the tears of families waiting for loved ones. An empty chair is for the missing soldiers and a white candle represents peace.

Fifth-grade teacher Liz Hartley said reading the book and setting the white table was a good lesson for her students.

"We were able to talk about who in their families were in war," Hartley said. "(Iraq) makes it more relevant to where we are today."

Fifth-grader Will Knickerbocker, 11, said he learned a lot from the book and setting the table.

"I can't even get a picture of what it would be like to be in the war," Will said. "This lets people know what it's like and what it means for families."

Reno Gazette-Journal (Reno, NV)

November 12, 2007

How to thank a vet

Sometimes it can be hard to know how to best acknowledge a veteran for his or her service. Do you ask about the time they served? Is it enough to just say, "thank you," especially when some veterans are homeless or paralyzed? Should you, can you, do more?

Here are some suggestions that were made by Reno Gazette-Journal readers, including veterans, on ways to thank a veteran on Veterans Day, which is observed today.

Our librarian at Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Stephanie Pirtle, set up a solitary and solemn small white table in the library, complete with all the place setting items based on the Margot Theis Raven book "America's White Table." This is a true story and originated during the Vietman War era to honor prisoners of wars or those missing in action. She is reading this book to our students and introducing them to the tradition.

Cape Cod Times

(Hyannis, MA)

May 30, 2005

'Missing Man Table'

Whenever Mom unfurled the neatly pressed white linen tablecloth and spread it evenly over the dining room table, we knew someone was coming to dinner. No one special. Usually, an aunt or a grandmother.

But it represented formality, this white tablecloth. It meant that we could not claim our assigned seat with our ball caps on, the three-second rule applied to elbows on the table, and God help us if we ever spilled the gravy.

The worst part of these formal Sunday afternoon dinners was grace before meal. Sometimes, the interminable prayers cooled the hot rolls.

But for Mom, the weekly tradition of gathering her children around the table was worth the five hours of preparation in the kitchen - the peeling of the potatoes, the rolling of the pie crust, the snapping of the string beans.

These Sunday afternoon dinners, filled with laughter, are less common today, crowded out by second jobs, school sports, extended shopping hours. And the old white tablecloth, stained by gravy and red wine, has long been discarded.

A new tradition, however, may resurrect the white table. And Memorial Day is the best time to introduce it in your home.

Little known to the public, white tablecloths are an integral part of a poignant way to remember prisoners of war and those missing in action. More than 30 years ago, during the Vietnam War, a group of fighter pilots began setting ''remembrance tables'' or ''missing man tables'' in mess halls in Vietnam and in the United States.

The Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association - the so-called River Rats of Vietnam - began setting a small empty table with a white tablecloth, a black napkin at one seat, a white candle, and a plate with only a slice of lemon and salt. An empty chair leans against the table.

The tablecloth represents purity of heart, the black napkin the sorrow of captivity and the white candle, peace. The lemon represents the missing soldier's bitter fate and the salt, the tears shed by the families of the missing.

Over the years, the tradition has spread to other branches of the military where the tables are set when units or commands gather for dinners or reunions.

The story of the remembrance table is now explained in the children's picture book ''America's White Table'' (Sleeping Bear Press).

''It's really thanking everyone who served - not just Vietnam. It has gone beyond that,'' Tom Hanton, a 60-year-old former fighter pilot who spent nine months as a POW in Vietnam, told . ''It applies to those serving right now in Iraq and Afghanistan and all around the world.''

The book's author, Margot Theis Raven of Mount Pleasant, S.C., said she would like to see the white table become a tradition for all Americans, as common as flying the flag on Independence Day.

''Be it Memorial Day or the Fourth of July...,'' she said, ''the point is every single day of freedom is brought to you by that person who is not sitting there.''

The white table is a simple way of remembering those who said 'yes' to duty. ''And that,'' she said, ''is always to be honored.''

Posted by Camille at 12:45 AM 0 comments

Sunday, May 29, 2005

For Memorial Day

I hosted author Margot Theis Raven at my library along with Col. Gail Halvorsen in the fall of 2003. At that time she was working on a book called America's White Table. She was in the middle of discussions with her publisher about some of the wording. I always marvel at the polishing and reworking of books with 32 pages and 500+ words.

She had the manuscript of the book with her and read it aloud to a group of us. I listened with huge tears in my eyes.

The AP has a moving article by Bruce Smith about the book and the custom of the remembrance White Table. It gives the background of the story and tradition that started with the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association also known as the River Rats of Vietnam. Read the whole thing.

The book's webpage has this excerpt:

It was just a little white table...
but it felt as big as America when we helped Mama put each item on it and she told us why it was so important.

"We use a Small Table, girls," she explained first, "to show one soldier's lonely battle against many. We cover it with a White Cloth to honor a soldier's pure heart when he answers his country's call to duty."

"We place a Lemon Slice and Grains of Salt on a plate to show a captive soldier's bitter fate and the tears of families waiting for loved ones to return," she continued.

"We push an Empty Chair to the table for the missing soldiers who are not here..."

Raven hopes this will become a tradition with American families like flying the American flag.

I am going to go iron a white table cloth. I think we will prepare a table tomorrow.

Connecticut Post (Bridgeport, CT)

November 11, 2008

White table is symbol of those lost in war

DANBURY -- A small table covered by a white tablecloth and just a few items sat in the front of Sacred Heart Church on Monday morning.

The table had an empty chair, as well as an overturned wine glass, a black napkin, a white candle, a lemon wedge and a red rose. They symbolized peace, sorrow, absence, love and bitterness -- all in tribute to soldiers missing in action or prisoners of war.

Peter Bartholomew stood beside the table and read the illustrated book "America's White Table" aloud to his St. Peter-Sacred Heart School students in homage to Veterans Day.

The students heard the voice of their teacher break as he read about the table becoming the universal symbol for missing soldiers for every branch in the military.

"I liked Mr. Bartholomew reading about the white table," 12-year-old seventh-grader Thomas Zielinski said. "It made me think about how all these people risked their lives for our country."

Author Margot Theis Raven wrote the book about a family who set a white table for Veterans Day. It reminds readers of the depth of sacrifice each member of the Armed Forces and their families may be called to give.

Bartholomew told the students he served as a soldier from 1974-78. While he did not serve during a war, he knew soldiers who fought in the Vietnam War. When he was in uniform, he said, he experienced the bitterness the public felt toward Vietnam veterans.

The Veterans Day program honored those who served, those who are serving and those who never came home.

"It was the 11th day of the 11th month at 11 a.m. in 1917 when World War I came to an end," school principal Mary McCormack said during the service.

"Let us pray that the war to end all wars will become a reality," McCormack said. "Remember if there is peace inside of us, the peace will go to the others next to us and spread. That is how we will achieve peace."

Some students carried flags and all the students sang patriotic songs accompanied by music teacher Laura Atwood, who composed music for the war poem "In Flanders Field," which the children sang.

"How important it is to support, to remember, and take care of our servicemen," McCormack said, explaining that her husband served in the Korean War and her son served in Iraq.

Eleven-year-old seventh-grader Josselyne Peralta enjoyed the program.

"I thought it was very touching. I felt that everyone was listening very closely," Peralta said. "What happens in the wars shows how much people, like those who are fighting in Iraq, really love our country."

ThisWeek Community Newspapers (Columbus, OH)

November 17, 2005

CATHY WOGAN

Table is symbolic of missing military personnel

In the darkened auditorium of Hastings Middle School on Veteran's Day, the spotlight focused on a white, linen-covered table and an empty chair.

The white linen stood for purity, a lemon for bitterness, the salt on the table was representative of tears, the upside down glass for a meal not eaten, a red rose for the hope of a return and the chair sat empty waiting for the missing soldier.

As students explained the remembrance table to the audience, tears spilled down the cheeks of several people present and the only sound was the scrambling for tissues.

"The table said it all," said Principal Beverly von Zielonka after the formal program and before group discussions occurred in 19 classrooms, including the media center.

The idea for the remembrance table was incorporated into the annual program for the first time by librarian Barbara Hirsch, according to Invention Specialist Debby Kent.

Hirsch found the story in "America's White Table" a book by Margot Theis Raven.

Linda Citino, a teacher of Gifted students, helped eighth-graders rewrite the script.

Teacher and Vietnam veteran Bill Richards, who was instrumental in spearheading the Veteran's Day program after a couple of teachers approached him about six years ago, said they knew when they read the script that a Prisoner Of War (P.O.W.) flag had to cross the stage and be dipped at the table.

"It is all about the person who is not at the table," said Richards.

To cut corners, he said, they almost used a beige table cloth, but decided against it. When the spotlight hit the white linen, he said, it shimmered in the light.

"It was breath-taking," said Richards.

U.S. Army veteran Tom Strausbaugh, with tears in his eyes, explained that for him the table was symbolic of his son, Chance, who followed in his footsteps to be part of the 101st Airborne Division. Although his son is well, he is missing from the family table as long as he is serving in Iraq.

Mary Spellacy sat quietly listening to the veterans share their stories with the students, while a picture of her late son, standing in a military pose in front of his plane, rested on the desk in front of her.

Spellacy's son, David, was killed when his plane was shot down during the first invasion of the Persian Gulf.

At the close of the discussions when she walked outside with everyone to see a Black Hawk land on the back lot, Spellacy halted some distance from the helicopter.

"Every time I see an aircraft," she said, "I think of him."

Don Ross Jr., a former student at Hastings Middle School, flew the craft in after Lyena Hinga and her mother, Becky, spoke to his father about the possibility.

The roar of its engine could be heard as it landed during the veteran's discussions, which were sometimes humorous and other times emotional.

The emotions made it hard for Richards to speak at times.

"Some of these men, I had never met before today," he said, "but they are my brothers."

Talking about their experiences is not always easy for the veterans.

They referred to Pilot Paul Tibbets, who flew the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Japan, and his decision not to discuss the experience with students.

While the bombs killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese, Richards said American veterans of the era say they would not be alive had the mission not been flown.

In his classroom, sharing their stories, were Strasbaugh, Frank Sugar, Richard Petrarca, Bob Tullet, Daniel Hendrickson, Bob Hershey, James Upper and

Tom Lane.

Hershey, who is Richards' father-in-law, said he was in basic training during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The weeks of basic training were cut dramatically short and the military personnel did not know what to expect next.

Hershey did not go to Germany, but he recalled being surrounded by the Japanese while he was stationed in the Philippines.

"They would sneak into our camp at night for food," he said. "We weren't certain about getting up the next morning."

Lane said his son, Bobby, is currently in Iraq, and he seized an opportunity to talk with Capt. James Haunty, of the United States Marine Corp, about his fears for his son.

"He's in good hands," said Haunty, a former Hastings student who cut a striking pose in his uniform as his height towered over others.

Richards said it is amazing to think that the stories shared in his classroom were repeated 19 times throughout the building as a strong military presence was felt by the United States Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard.

During classroom discussions with the other veterans, ranging from World War II to the present, Strausbaugh said people think the parent of six children must have a favorite. He said his favorite is always the one who is missing at the time.

Starkville Daily News (MS)

November 12, 2008

SHOSHANA BRACKETT and BRIAN HAWKINS Starkville Daily News

SHS students pay tribute to local veterans

LEST WE FORGET.

Starkville High School's JROTC cadets and fellow students honored area military veterans and current servicemen and women during the school's annual Veterans Day program Tuesday.

Major Andrew S. Rendon, director of Mississippi State University's G. V. "Sonny" Montgomery Center for America's Veterans, urged students and the community to honor veterans throughout the year during his address.

"Veterans Day marks the beginning of what should be a year of remembering the service of our veterans," he said.

"I urge all of us to go to these men and women in uniform and shake their hand and say thanks," he said.

A 1987 SHS graduate, Rendon said, he was very proud of SHS and its recognition of veterans.

Rendon also paid special tribute to Cpl. Taylor McDavid, a Starkville native serving as a tank operator with the Army's 1-64th Armored Division, 3rd Infantry, who was killed in the line of duty in March in Baghdad.

"We'll never be able to repay the debt Cpl. McDavid paid in service to this country," he said.

During the program, Aundrea Self-Nichols, of WCBI-TV and a SHS graduate, sang the national anthem; the SHS choral ensemble presented a song; the SHS band performed the songs of each military branch; and names of those Oktibbeha County residents killed in war or listed as POW/ MIA were read.

Rendon addresses VFW Rendon also spoke later Tuesday morning at a Veterans' Day program hosted by the Stoy-Nash Post No. 5573 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

During the program, the VFW presented McDavid's parents, Robert and Jean Alice, with a plaque commemorating their son's military service, as well as an of fi cial garrison cap from the VFW post.

The McDavid's also presented VFW members with a copy of the children's book, "America's White Table," written by Margot Theis Raven and illustrated by Mike Benny.

Military tradition dictates that a White Table is set in many mess halls as a symbol for and remembrance to service members fallen, missing, or held captive in the line of duty. Solitary and solemn, it is the table where no one will ever sit.

"America's White Table" tells the story of a girl whose family sets a White Table in honor of an uncle.

Robert McDavid, in presenting a copy of the book to VFW members, said a copy had been given to one of his granddaughters by her teacher after his son was killed in March. He urged VFW members to take time to read the book.

The Repository (Canton, OH)

June 30, 2005

Kendal Rautzhan

Books to Borrow Books to Buy: Celebrate Fourth of July with books about our nation

July 4th is a good time to read books with children that reflect different aspects of being American, and that’s what today’s reviewed books feature.

Whether it’s a humorous book about our judicial system, a special tribute to our MIAs and POWs, or staying close to a parent who serves in our military and is far away from home, these stories provide something solid without being overdone.

Amid your preparations to celebrate July 4th, don’t forget to make time to read to your children. Fireworks and picnics are loads of fun, but so is reading a great book. Put it on your list!

The following books are available at favorite bookstores.

“America’s White Table” by Margot Theis Raven, illustrated by Mike Benny, Sleeping Bear Press, 2005, 32 pages, $16.95 hardcover.

Read aloud: 5-6 and older.

Read yourself: 8 and older.

Ever since the Vietnam War, a white table has been set across America in mess halls and at military events to honor America’s Armed Forces, especially those missing in action and those held prisoner of war. It is a solitary, small table where no one will ever sit.

On Veteran’s Day, Mama asks Katie and her sisters to help set this special white table for their family’s dinner. Uncle John was joining them, and the white table held special meaning for him; he had been a

POW in Vietnam. As they work, Mama explains what each item set on the table signifies, providing an understanding of the depth of sacrifice of all members of the America’s armed services and their Uncle John.

Sensitively written and illustrated, this outstanding book will touch the hearts of young and old alike.

School Digest

Highland Park News (IL)

November 23, 2007

ST. JAMES SCHOOL - On Nov. 12, the St. James student body and faculty gathered in church to honor past and present military personnel. The paraliturgy was put together by Mrs. Vitulli's seventh- and eighth-grade social studies class. The book, The White Table by Margot Theis Raven, was read as part of the service. Students reenacted the setting of the little white table with items that symbolize a soldier's often lonely battle for our freedom.

Following the story, Lieutenant Colonel Singular from the 244th Brigade, stationed at Fort Sheridan spoke to the children about the purpose of Veterans Day. Lieutenant Colonel Singular was commissioned and entered the Army in 1986 as an Aviation Officer. He has been a part of the military for 21 years. He attended St. Olaf Catholic Grade School, Judge Memorial Catholic High School and Utah State University, graduating with a B.S. in Political Science and Sociology. His hometown is Bountiful, Utah, but he resides in Lake Forest. During his conclusion, Lieutenant Colonel Singular read the poem by Father O'Brien in which Father O'Brien, a soldier too, explains that we are able to enjoy the freedoms of today because we have had many fine men and women fight for them.

The prayer service ended with a slide presentation which included pictures of St. James military families. The presentation concluded with pictures of veterans from previous wars, showing the school community's respect and thanks for the service our military has given and continues to give today.

Poe Middle School Plans Table of Remembrance in Honor of Veterans Day

November 5, 2008

Fairfax County Virginia Public Schools issued the following news release:

The White Table, a table of remembrance in honor of Veterans Day, will be displayed in the front lobby of Poe Middle School on Tuesday, November 11, throughout the school day. Poe Middle School is a Fairfax County public school.

Based on the book America's White Table by Margot Theis Raven, the table honors the men and women who serve in America's armed forces and symbolizes remembrance of service members who have been held as prisoners of war or who are missing in action. Each individual item on the table represents one element of tribute and remembrance. Items include:

The small table represents one soldier's battle against many.

The white tablecloth honors a soldier's pure heart when he or she answers the country's call to duty.

A lemon slice and grains of salt symbolize a captive soldier's bitter fate and tears of families waiting for their loved ones to come home.

An empty chair at the table represents the missing soldiers.

A black napkin signifies the sorrow of captivity.

An inverted glass stands for a meal that won't be eaten.

A white candle symbolizes peace.

A red rose in a vase tied with a red ribbon represents hope that the missing soldiers will return some day.

The school will hold an open house for parents on Veterans Day. Parents will be able to see and learn about the White Table as they enter the building for the open house and a special luncheon. Student ambassadors, with the help of posters, will describe the significance of the items.

Margot Theis Raven

"The world moves forward on the footsteps of little children." Patty S. Hill

Sunday, May 29, 2005

For Memorial Day