Mighty Ninety remembers POWs, those MIA Published Sept. 21, 2015 By Senior Airman Jason Wiese 90th Missile Wing Public Affairs F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- The 90th Missile Wing's Prisoner of War and Missing in Action Memorial Week events culminated in the POW and MIA Remembrance Ceremony Sept. 17 in the Trail's End Event Center here. Volunteers from the wing and representatives from the Army, Navy and Marine Corps performed a somber ceremony of setting the POW/MIA table, laying items symbolizing the absence and sacrifice of POWs and those MIA. Following the ceremony, guests listened to retired Army Maj. Ted Gostas recount his tale of surviving more than five years as a POW of the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. Gostas said if his story instills the resolve to never be captured in war then it is worth telling. "I thought it was very inspirational," said event attendee Airman 1st Class Shianne Spiekermann, 90th Missile Security Forces Squadron. "It changed the way I think about things." She said the ceremony and speech made her rethink the way she interacts with her loved ones, especially if she were to deploy. "If I go missing, that might be the last I'll ever get to remember about them," she said. Master Sgt. Rebecca McNelley, Air Force Sergeants Association Chapter 1178 president, and Staff Sgt. Randi Shepherd, the chapter head of communication, organized the event. In 2014, AFSA leadership solicited suggestions for ways to recognize POW and MIA Remembrance Week, and McNelley spearheaded coordinating base events last year and this year, and plans to keep the event going into the future. "We will be sponsoring it again next year," McNelley said. "Each year, the goal is to make it a little bit bigger." She said the week of events is important because the heroes of the past who went missing or were taken captive need recognition for their service to the country. "They are our role models," she said. "It's their sacrifice that makes me want to do my best." Col. Frank Verdugo, 90th Mission Support Group commander, was the host for the ceremony, and he expressed gratitude to Gostas for sharing his experiences and for the sacrifices made by POWs and those MIA throughout the nation's history. "Coming here was the most important thing I have done all week, if not all month," he said.