A 24-hour Service Run was held on the UConn Storrs campus over the weekend to coincide with National POW/MIA Recognition Day on Friday, Sept. 19. The event was organized and coordinated by the UConn Air Force ROTC in conjunction with the UConn Office of Veterans and Military Programs.

The run took place on a mile-long loop around campus and participants included cadets from both the Air Force and Army ROTC programs from UConn. Also taking part were UConn students, students who are veterans, friends and family members of the Veterans and Military Program members, and other University officials and administrators.

“We gather to honor and remember the brave men and women of our armed forces who are taken as prisoners of war and remain missing in action,” said Alyssa Keller, director of Veterans and Military Programs at UConn. “Their sacrifice and courage remind us of the price of freedom and our duty to never forget. Each year on the third Friday of September, our nation pauses to reflect on the sacrifices of our service members who were taken prisoner in times of war, and the thousands still missing in action whose fates remain unknown.

“This day is about more than remembrance,” she continued. “It is about a solemn promise, a promise that as a nation we will never forget them, a promise that we will not rest until every man and woman who wore the uniform who did not come home is accounted for. We also remember that POW/MIA Recognition Day is not only about those who served, but about their families, who bore the weight of absence.”

The run began with an honor lap, which featured the carrying of the American, Connecticut, and POW/MIA flags, along with the flags of the Army and Air Force.

The event was the brainchild of UConn student Zhiling Lin ’27 (CLAS), a cadet in the UConn Air Force ROTC. She is from Fairfield and majoring in actuarial science. Following graduation, she will be commissioned as an officer and hopes to be a cargo pilot.

Lin is also a member of the UConn chapter of the Arnold Air Society, a service organization comprising Air Force ROTC cadets. UConn’s chapter is named after Granville and Roger Brundage, two UConn students killed in World War II. Roger’s plane was shot down and his body never recovered. There is a memorial to both of them in the Storrs cemetery on campus.

“We think it’s really important that we recognize all the prisoners of war and those who are missing in action,” said Lin. “The service run is a way for all of us to remember.”