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INS Lecture 9 - You Are Not Forgotten: POW/MIA Iconography and American Civil Religion since Vietnam

2026-05-20 · 15:00 UTC ·U.S. Naval War College ·1 min read

Brief

Brad Carter's INS Lecture 9 (U.S. Naval War College, published 2026-05-20) is a presentation tracing POW/MIA iconography since Vietnam. Carter shows how items—POW/MIA bracelets, flags, and the eight-element Missing Man Table (white tablecloth, empty chair, inverted glass, rose, candle, lemon, salt, Bible)—borrow older religious forms to shape American civil religion and the enduring slogan 'You Are Not Forgotten.'

Why it matters

The Missing Man Table—used across U.S. military dining halls, veterans’ organizations, airports, schools, civic buildings, and restaurants—is composed of eight symbolic elements: white tablecloth, empty chair, inverted glass, rose, candle, lemon, salt, and Bible.

Key details

  • Brad Carter (INS Lecture 9, U.S. Naval War College, published 2026-05-20) traces the origins and evolution of POW/MIA remembrance since the Vietnam War, showing how bracelets, flags, and ceremonial tables became integrated into American civil religion and public narratives of service and sacrifice under the slogan 'You Are Not Forgotten.'
  • Carter argues these ritualized objects borrow from older religious traditions to shape public understanding of military sacrifice and to maintain civic rituals that keep missing service members present in communal memory.
Source evidence

Link to self-certification form here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/MCLwLDVrej

INS Lecture 9 - You Are Not Forgotten: POW/MIA Iconography and American Civil Religion since Vietnam
Across the United States—in military dining halls, veterans’ organizations, airports, schools, civic buildings, and even restaurants—the POW/MIA “Missing Man” Table has become one of the most recognizable patriotic symbols of American military remembrance. With its white tablecloth, empty chair, inverted glass, rose, candle, lemon, salt, and Bible, the table transforms ordinary objects into powerful symbols of sacrifice, absence, and hope.
This lecture explores the origins and evolution of POW/MIA remembrance in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, examining how POW/MIA bracelets, flags, and ceremonial tables became part of America’s broader patriotic landscape. Drawing on military history, religious studies, and the idea of American civil religion, the presentation considers how these ritualized objects incorporate older religious traditions, how they shape public understandings of military service and sacrifice, and why the language of “You Are Not Forgotten” continues to resonate in American public life.

Lecturer:
Brad Carter is Associate Professor of Strategy and Policy at the U.S. Naval War College and former Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement. His teaching and scholarship focus on American civil religion, military culture, and religion and war. He previously taught military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and has held academic and administrative leadership roles in both higher education and theological education. He currently serves as the Book Review Editor of the Naval War College Review. He holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Kansas, an MTS from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, and an AB in Philosophy and Religion from William Jewell College.

Channel: U.S. Naval War College
Published: 2026-05-20
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsMlmDMpSNc