Republican photo/Christopher BouchardCARIBOU — Caribou’s annual POW/MIA ceremony featured a keynote speaker who is not only a veteran, but also an owner of Virtual Managed Solutions, a local call center.
C.B. Smith, born in Presque Isle, served in the U.S. Air Force, and is proud to be contributing to the area’s economic development through his business, which was selected in one of the best places to work in Maine in 2016.
Unlike most keynote speakers, Smith’s speech had a visual component, involving a table set by members of the Loring Job Corps Honor Guard as Smith described each item’s relevance.
A bell sounded once before Smith described the symbolism behind each item.
“The table, as you see, is a place of honor,” said Smith. “In setting this table we acknowledge those missing from our celebration today. The table is small, symbolizing the vulnerability of a lone prisoner against his captors. Remember that.
“The cloth is white, symbolizing the purity of intention in responding to the nation’s call to arms.”
The bell sounded once more.
Republican photo/Christpher Bouchard“The chair is empty, for the missing and fallen are not among us today,” Smith said, before the bell was rung again.
“The glass, is inverted, for those who can not toast with us today,” continued Smith. “The slices of lemon remind us of their bitter suffering.”
The speaker described the bottle as representing the strength gained through faith, and the single red rose as the blood that was shed in order to preserve the freedoms of the United States.
“The burning candle,” Smith said after the bell chimed once again, “is reminiscent of the light of hope that lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors to the open arms of a grateful nation, and the everlasting hope of a reunion with the missing.”
Smith told the audience that, as he worked on this narrative, he spent time reading first-hand accounts of captivity from former POW’s, and learned of their “struggles, anxiety, and despair.”
“I also spent time talking with family members of a former POW,” said Smith. “Through their descriptions of torture, I read and I heard of something that they all had in common. Something I believe they shared individually, and that’s fortitude: a strength born of defiance, developed and nurtured in a hope or a prayer.”
The speaker described an example of fortitude which he heard from the family of a deceased POW, who was a native to Aroostook County. As the man realized he only had a few seconds before he was to be beaten and captured, he stuck his rifle into the ground and fired, so it couldn’t be used by his captors.
“In my mind’s eye, I could see this man standing there,” Smith said, “with his chin out, his shoulders back, and his chest up, saying ‘What are you going to do to me?’”
The POW/MIA Ceremony also featured a 21-gun salute by the American Legion Riders of Madawaska, Chapter 147, along with a performance of the National Anthem and Amazing Grace.
