GREEN COVE SPRINGS – A black and white POW/MIA made several rumbling pops as a light breeze embraced more than 300 guests at Saturday’s, March 28, “Welcome Home” program, as the TAPS Committee hosted its annual Vietnam Veterans Day Ceremony. 

It provided a somber background for keynote speaker, David Huffman, the Executive Director of Mission: POW/MIA. 

Huffman is married to Jeannie Huffman, the daughter of Cmdr. Edward J. Jacobs, who is still missing in action. Jeannie was born at NAS Jax, and her father left for Vietnam two weeks later and never returned. 

The couple is now dedicated to finding and returning the remains of those left behind in Vietnam, as well as the military artifacts from the war. 

“This is the most patriotic event we've ever had,” David said. “For all our Vietnam veterans today, we want to say on behalf of the families of this man, welcome home. There were 1,566 unaccounted for Americans from the Vietnam War. These include soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and civilians. 

“When we formed the mission, POW/MIA, we did so with family members of missing service members and active, I'm sorry, retired military officers.” 

The POW/MIA flag has special reverence in Clay County. It was designed in 1971 by Orange Park’s Mary Helen Hoff, the wife of a missing Vietnam pilot, Cmdr. Michael G. Hoff, who was stationed in Laos and shot down in combat and never recovered. 

Other flags representing the U.S. Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, Space Force and Coast Guard were held by members of the Patriot Guard Riders at the TAPS Monument in the Historic Triangle. 

Huffman said his organization started SEARCH. 

“The ‘S’ stands for Seeking, and the ‘H’ stands for an Honorable Accounting of the Missing,” David said. “The ‘E’ stands for Engaging Partner Organizations, just like the VVA. The ‘A’ stands for Advocating for our families and holding accountable for those responsible for the mission to bring them home. The ‘R’ stands for Research and Investigation, which I spend a lot of time doing with the families. The ‘C’ stands for Conducting outreach and education, which is one of the things we're doing today. And the ‘H’ is for Honoring the service and sacrifice.” 

The event included the purpose of the Missing Man Table, the reading of a proclamation by BCC Chair Kristen Burke, patriotic melodies by Craig Seaton and the rendition of “Old Glory” by U.S. Navy Command Master Chief Petty Officer (Ret.) Mack Ellis. Green Cove Springs Police Cmdr. Austin Graham read all 21 Clay County residents who were killed in Vietnam, while Orange Park Police Chief Randy Case rang a bell after each name was mentioned.  TAPS was also played. 

The Huffmans brought items they’ve uncovered from the Vietnam War, including uniforms, a pith helmet, dog tags, blood sheds and ID cards. They want many artifacts removed from displays and Vietnamese museums and returned to families. 

“Information like these ID cards and blood sheds that are in museums,” he said. “We can give one of the MIA families – we don't like using the word closure – but some kind of peace, to have something of their loved one that was with them the day that they went missing.” 

But the primary mission is to identify remains and return them home, David said. He’s made several trips to Southeast Asia to explore possible mass graves and to run down other leads. He also said there are more than 80,000 missing soldiers in World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam, the Cold War and the Persian Gulf conflicts. 

There are 1,566 missing from Vietnam, Huffman said. 

When Mary created the POW/MIA flag, she purposely did it in black and white, with the black representing the stark reality of captivity or death, and the white representing innocence. 

Guests were once again reminded of that during the Vietnam Veterans Day Ceremony.