POW-MIA Chair of Honor Dedicated in DSU Admin Building

In honor of American military men and women who have been prisoners of war or missing in action, Delaware State University has dedicated a “POW/MIA Chair of Honor”  as a permanent monument on the first floor northwest corner of its Claibourne D, Smith Administration Building.

The POW/MIA Chair of Honor at DSU – which was dedicated the Nov. 11 Veterans’ Day – is one of 68 established in the state of Delaware in honor of American prisoners of war and those determined to be missing in action in World War I and II, as well as the military conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.

Keynote speakers for the event included Andre Swygert, Air Force veteran and author, Flight Training At The United States Naval Academy, and retired U.S. Army Col. Debbie Harrington, who currently serves as the 1st Vice Chair of DSU’s Board of Trustees.
“I’m proud to be an American for many reasons. But one is that we stand alone in the world when it comes to identifying, retrieving, and honoring our nation’s war dead,” said Mr. Swygert, who also served as a business development professional in the aerospace and defense sectors.
  
Mr. Swygert notes that there are more than 81,900 U.S. personnel remain unaccounted for – including more than 78,000 from World War I (three from Delaware), 72,000 from World War II (141 from Delaware), more than 7,500 from the Korean War (13 from Delaware), and more than 1,200 from the Vietnam War (five from Delaware).

In recounting a few stories of servicemen who paid the supreme price, Ms. Swygert told the story of Marine Corps Capt. Larry Potts, a Smyrna resident and a 1969 graduate of then-Delaware State College. During the 1969 Commencement Ceremony, the DSC graduate received both a diploma and his commission as an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

Capt. Potts was part of a mission to rescue Col. Iceal Hambleton, a navigator whose EB-66 aircraft had been shot down while escorting a cell B-52s and their bombing mission. Capt. Potts was directing naval gunfire from an Air Force OV-10A Bronco, when his aircraft crashed after being hit by hostile fire.

Radio contact was established with both Potts and his Air Force pilot 1st Lt. Bruce Walker, but due to the large force of enemy troops in the area, they could not be rescued. Walker was apparently captured after evading the enemy for 11 days. Potts was reported to have been captured and subsequently died in Quang Binh prison. Both men remain unaccounted for.

Col. Harrington set the finishing tone for the dedication.

“With this ceremony, we remember and honor the sacrifices made, the lives lost, the families separated, the pain experienced, and the suffering endured,” Col. Harrington said. “We can never really fully repay such an altruistic debt, but we can remember to remember.”
The Chair of Honor dedication is part of an initiative entitled “Their Stories: Honoring Service, Sacrifice, and Spirit at Delaware State University” that aims to highlight the unique stories, experiences, and contributions of veterans employed at DSU, veteran students, and veteran dependents.