Empty chair at US Capitol seeks to honor POW, MIA troops, serve as reminder to lawmakers

House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis., from left, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, unveil the commemorative chair, during a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol's Emancipation Hall in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017, in honor of U.S. prisoners of war and the service members missing in action. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)(Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Congressional lawmakers this week lauded the addition of a new chair to the U.S. Capitol, which will honor American prisoners of war and the thousands of service members missing in action.

U.S. House and Senate leaders, Massachusetts legislators and veterans advocates unveiled and dedicated the commemorative chair, which will sit in Emancipation Hall at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, during a Wednesday ceremony.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and other lawmakers contended that the empty chair will serve as a reminder to Capitol visitors and members of Congress, alike, of the sacrifices American soldiers have made and the costs of war.

"This chair is important as a way to remind people of those who didn't come home," Warren said in an interview. "But it is also important to remind people of the debt we owe to every single person who signs up for military service."

The Democrat, who sponsored the so-called National POW/MIA Remembrance Act which made the chair possible, said it serves as a deeper reminder to lawmakers, amidst rising tensions with North Korea, recent military losses and the threat of additional foreign conflicts.

"It's important for the public to see this chair, but it is also important for the senators and representatives to see it. The chair serves as a reminder of the solemn judgement we undertake when we make the decision about sending our service members into danger," she said.

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-South Boston, who offered the House version of the bill which President Barack Obama signed into law, also lauded the addition of the chair to the U.S. Capitol -- an idea that he noted came at the urging of veterans group Rolling Thunder.

The congressman, during remarks at the unveiling ceremony, said the chair will not just remind lawmakers of their power to send troops into battle, but of their "enduring obligations to (service members') families to see that no matter what happens, they ultimately return."

He noted that more than 80,000 American troops are classified as "missing in action," including about 1,000 from the Vietnam War, 7,000 from the Korean War and over 70,000 in World War II.

U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas, D-Lowell, also praised the chair, saying she was "honored" to attend it's dedication ceremony.

"We will forever remember the sacrifice made by the women and men of the U.S. military," she tweeted.

Warren noted that Rolling Thunder raised funds to place the chair at the U.S. Capitol and worked with the architect of the Capitol on its design.

"What we ended up with was this chair that had been designed by the architect of the capitol back in the 1850s, and is a beautiful oak, hand-carved chair that had been set aside and no one knows for what," she said. "So I met with Massachusetts Rolling Thunder and we decided that chair was set aside because it was meant to be for our MIAs and POWs."

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