July 2018 – The Missing Man Table is a cherished military tradition intended to remember military service members who have fallen, gone missing, or are imprisoned. It is often set up in military dining facilities with various objects, including a Bible, to honor the sacrifice of those missing.
On April 5, Military Religious Freedom Foundation sent a complaint to Rear Adm. Paul D. Pearigen concerning a Missing Man Table at U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan. The MRFF charged that the Bible was government promotion of religion, and thus violated the U.S. Constitution.
However, in an April 17 letter, Pearigen responded to the April 5 MRFF complaint: “I assure you that the Bible and the description of the POW/MIA remembrance table are consistent with … the Constitution.”
