Veterans gathered again Friday for a particularly solemn display in the wake of last week's terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon and the hijacked jetliner that crashed in Somerset County.
'My heart has been saddened by the people who were killed. There were a lot of fellow veterans killed, so this means a lot more now,' said retired U.S. Navy Chief Joe Hartman of Mt. Pleasant.
Veterans meet once a year at the courthouse and take turns standing in silence with a black POW-MIA flag in front of a bamboo cage as a symbol of the conditions American prisoners had to endure in Vietnam.
At the start of the ceremony, organizers read off a list of the 112 Pennsylvanians still listed as missing in action, including two from Westmoreland County during the Vietnam War - Robert Acalotto of North Huntingdon Township and Barry Bidwell of Greensburg.
Paul Yeckel Jr., chairman of the county's POW-MIA committee, said this year's vigil takes on additional meaning because of the more than 6,000 Americans killed in last week's attacks.
'With the people missing from the World Trade Center, they are going through a lot of the same anguish that the families of POWs go through. The events of their deaths are unknown to their families. At the World Trade Center, some of the bodies will never be discovered,' Yeckel said.
With military action all but assured against the terrorist leaders, veterans said they are prepared for casualties, but anticipate few prisoners and even fewer soldiers will be missing in action.
'They should be able to account for everybody,' said Greg Fitchko of Ligonier.
