BGSU to dedicate seat in stadium to POW/MIA

BOWLING GREEN, O.—Bowling Green State University will designate a permanently unoccupied seat in Doyt Perry Stadium to honor the tens of thousands of military personnel who are or were prisoners of war (POW) or have been declared missing in action (MIA).

BGSU will dedicate a Rolling Thunder collegiate POW/MIA Chair of Honor at 2 p.m. Sept. 6 as part of the pre-game activities before the football game against the Virginia Military Institute. The ceremony will be held on the west side of the stadium. The seat will be located in Section 16.

This is the first of five planned seat dedications. A POW/MIA Chair of Honor will also be designated in the Stroh Center and the Ice Arena, and two mobile units will travel to other athletic events.

The dedication is made possible through a donation by retired Marine Corps Col. Ted Jenkins, a BGSU alumnus and former member of the Alumni and BGSU Foundation boards. Jenkins credits the work of the BGSU Veterans Alumni Committee with making the project a reality.

“The concept for this project began with just a discussion and the rest is history,” said Jenkins. “It reminds me of the TV show ‘The A-Team’ and the line ‘I love it when a plan comes together.’”

“It is an honor to recognize the members of our armed forces,” said Mary Ellen Mazey, BGSU president. “This seat will be a permanent reminder of the sacrifices made by our brave men and women.”

POW/MIA Chair of Honor is a national program designed to remember prisoners of war and those missing in action. The chair will be permanently installed in the stadium to help visitors and fans remember that even though our service members are not with us, they are not forgotten.

Rolling Thunder, best known for their annual "Ride to the Wall" event, is a nationwide POW/MIA rights organization. Hussey Seating Co., who is partnering with Rolling Thunder to provide the chairs for the National Chair of Honor program, donated the POW/MIA chair.