POW / MIA remembrance services planned Nov. 5, 6

College of the Ozarks to dedicate POW/MIA Memorial at Patriots Park, Nov. 5 

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College of the Ozarks will dedicate its new POW/MIA Memorial at Patriots Park on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 2 p.m., honoring American Prisoners of War and those who remain Missing in Action.

The ceremony will honor American Prisoners of War and those who remain Missing in Action, but it also will tell a larger story — one about service, sacrifice, the families who have waited and a nation’s promise that those who served will not be forgotten.

Among those gathered will be Veterans who know that story firsthand.

Chaplain (Colonel) Robert Certain, U.S. Air Force, retired, was held as a Prisoner of War in Vietnam from 1972-1973. Colonel John Clark, U.S. Air Force, retired, spent nearly six years as a POW from 1967-1973. Colonel Tom Moe, U.S. Air Force, retired, was held captive in Vietnam from 1968-1973.

Clark and Moe have each participated in the College’s Patriotic Education Travel Program, helping students understand American military history through relationships with those who lived it. Certain will participate in the program’s upcoming trip to Vietnam in March 2027.

A reception at The Keeter Center will follow the dedication ceremony.

POW/MIA Service of Remembrance to be held November 6

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Branson Veterans Homecoming annual POW/MIA Service will once again be held on November 6, 2026. The annual service reminds us all of the cost of war and peace. More than 90,000 service members have yet to be returned from foreign lands, long after our conflicts have ended. In addition, thousands of non-combatant losses remain missing, but without the recognition of being official and “official MIA” loss, as many were lost outside of combat zone, but while still on active duty.

The service will allow attendees to voice the names of their battle losses, as a bell tolls. We will not forget.

The featured returning speaker will be Navy Veteran David Arzani. David served from 1970-1978 as a Torpedoman Mate First Class for submarines.

The service will be held in the Keeter Center’s Royal Oak Forum on the campus of College of the Ozarks on November 6, 2026, at 8 a.m. The public is welcome, and there is no cost. For information, call the P.O.W. Network, 417-336-4232.