Red ribbon or yellow ribbon? Red rose or yellow rose?

Ceremonies, banquets and other gatherings of veterans and military families – including official business meetings of The American Legion – include an Empty Chair Ceremony in the opening to remember prisoners of war and those who are missing in action.

Two versions of the remembrance opening message are common. Key differences are the recommended color of the ribbon wrapped around the vase and the color of the rose.

Neither version is wrong, according to The American Legion Internal Affairs Division. However, the version that calls for a red ribbon and specifies no particular rose color is recommended in the 2020 American Legion Officer’s Guide and Manual of Ceremonies.

The recommended language, according to the manual, is as follows:

Those who have served, and those currently serving in the uniformed services of the United States, are ever mindful that the sweetness of enduring peace has always been tainted by the bitterness of personal sacrifice. We are compelled to never forget that while we enjoy our daily pleasures, there are others who have endured and may still be enduring the agonies of pain, deprivation and imprisonment.

Before we begin our activities, we pause to recognize our POWs and MIAs.

We call your attention to this small table, which occupies a place of dignity and honor. It is set for one, symbolizing the fact that members of our armed forces are missing from our ranks. They are referred to as POWs and MIAs.

We call them comrades. They are unable to be with their loved ones and families, so we join together to pay humble tribute to them, and to bear witness to their continued absence.

The table is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors.

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The single rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep faith while awaiting their return.

The red ribbon on the vase represents an unyielding determination for a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted. They cannot toast with us at this time.

The chair is empty. They are NOT here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope, which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation.

The American flag reminds us that many of them may never return — and have paid the supreme sacrifice to ensure our freedom.

Let us pray to the Supreme Commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.

Let us remember – and never forget their sacrifice. May God forever watch over them and protect them and their families.

The Officer’s Guide and Manual of Ceremonies states that this is “a suggested service for American Legion meetings, banquets, luncheons or memorial gatherings with a POW/MIA flag draped over an empty chair. This service can be adopted or modified for your own use. Members should remove their caps.”

Another common version differs in some of the descriptions of the items on the table set for one with the empty chair. In that version, “the single red rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America.”

The yellow ribbon, which commonly symbolizes hope for the return of a loved one from military service, is used instead of the red ribbon and explained as representing “the yellow ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand, with unyielding determination, a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.”

The full version of that message, used by many organizations when recognizing POWs and MIAs, is as follows:

This table, set for one, is small, symbolizing the frailty of one prisoner, alone against his or her suppressors. The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The single red rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep the faith, while awaiting their return.

The yellow ribbon on the vase represents the yellow ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand, with unyielding determination, a proper accounting of our comrades who are not among us tonight.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted. They cannot toast with us this night.

The chair is empty. They are not here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to the open arms of a grateful nation. Let us pray to the supreme commander that all of our comrades will soon be back within our ranks.

Let us remember and never forget their sacrifices.

May God forever watch over them and protect them and their families.

American Legion Resolution 288, passed at the 67th National Convention on Aug. 27, 1985, simply calls for the designation of a POW/MIA Empty Chair at official meetings “as a continual physical symbol of the POW/MIAs and cause for which we stand, namely their return or full accounting.”