By JORDAN MARSHALL

Associate Managing Editor

You are not forgotten.

This was the motto for this year's Air Force ROTC POW/MIA vigil held April 1-2. The 24-hour vigil was to honor those soldiers who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Information Management Cadet Cpt. Lam Hoang said.

The vigil ended with a guest speaker with former World War II POW, W.R. Matheny, who served in the Marines.

"The purpose of the vigil is to remember those who have not returned and those who have been forgotten because of the things they have done for their country," Hoang, a senior animal biology major, said. "A lot of them pay the ultimate price -- their lives."

Members of the ROTC volunteered their time to sit in a bamboo-style cage for an hour as a part of the vigil to show what some POWs go through while they are held captive.

Donald Johnson, a junior mechanical engineering major, said he spent an hour in the cage.

"It was cold and my feet were freezing," Johnson said. "The space that I had was hard to move around, and the ground was wet. The area where the cage was placed was clean, as for the POWs I imagine it to be dirty and cold."

Johnson also said he felt that the vigil was only a minor way to recognize the POWs.

"Twenty-four hours compared to weeks, months, even years doesn't amount to how much they have devoted our country," Johnson said.

At the end of the 24 hours Matheny spoke about his time as a POW and what he thinks about soldiers who give their lives in order to protect America.

Matheny said he did not let the experience of being a POW discourage him from participating in the military.

"If needed I would do it again," Matheny said. "But I wouldn't last as long this time."

Matheny told the cadets that once they become soldiers their duty to their country is permanent.

"Those who are enlisted or have served [in the military] took an oath to defend that flag," Matheny said. "And to my knowledge there is no expiration date on that oath."

The POW/MIA vigil is held across the nation by the Arnold Air Society, a professional service organization in the ROTC, Hoang said.

"The purpose of our organization is to serve the community and to show that the military is not all about fighting conflicts," Hoang said. "The Arnold Air society is out there to help the community and to show the public that we are dedicated to the citizens of America."