Chair of Honor honors POWs, MIAs at UF football stadium

UF is leaving a seat open for missing soldiers at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Chair of Honor, which honors prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action, was installed about two weeks ago, along with a plaque, said Randall Martin, a UF alumnus and Marine veteran who approached the university about the project last Fall. The University Athletic Association funded the project.

After seeing the project at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the first time, the 32-year-old reached out to the UAA about bringing it to UF.

“There is a lot to be understood about what veterans have gone through,” he said. “Hopefully this pushes focus on those whose fate we don’t know.”

At Saturday’s game, UF honored Cmdr. Randolph Wright Ford, who left the university in 1955 to serve in Vietnam and died after being captured as a POW.

Martin said the chair in Section A is a reminder of the stories of soldiers left unfinished.

“This is not an abstract concept,” Martin said.

Brett Surles, 26, said he has been deployed three times, but the chair represents much more than his service.

The UF chemical engineering senior hopes the chair is a reminder to students and Gainesville about the sacrifices being made by soldiers daily.

“As long as you understand what it is and what it means, then it can be equally important to veteran and non-veteran alike,” he said.